Sindong and Gwonseon Districts Development Takes 'Deformed' Shape

Some land in urban development project areas including Sindong District and Gwonseon District in the Suwon region is being excluded from development zones, resulting in what appears to be a deformed development structure. In particular, the Suwon City government is facing criticism for failing to properly coordinate with relevant agencies regarding issues such as the Hwaseong City administrative jurisdiction included in the development area and the relocation of an Air Force golf course.

According to the city on the 5th, the Sindong District urban development project, designated as an exchange-method urban development zone in November last year (covering 251,666㎡ and 1,522 households), will be developed excluding 45,263㎡ of Banjeong-dong administrative jurisdiction in Hwaseong City within the project site.

The city has been negotiating with Hwaseong City regarding land purchases and exchanges, but has failed to achieve significant results and has excluded this land, commissioning a consultant for the formulation of basic plans. When the consulting results are released by year-end, one corner of the horizontally-oriented fan-shaped Sindong District will be cut off, resulting in a deformed development structure.

This raises concerns that it will become an obstacle in urban infrastructure and land use planning. In particular, the city is struggling with how to utilize leftover triangular scraps of land in the process of constructing a road connecting Samsung-ro and Park Ji-sung-ro.

Since it will be developed using the exchange method, it is difficult to develop it as a park, and even if it is utilized as a commercial zone, there are concerns about high risks such as traffic congestion and accidents. The city, on the other hand, believes this land is in the most strategically valuable location and plans to establish land use plans considering surrounding conditions.

Not only in this area, but also in Gwonseon District (covering 992,248㎡ and 7,098 households), where Hyundai Industrial Development Co., Ltd. is the project operator, the purchase status of an approximately 330,000㎡ Air Force-owned golf course within the project site remains unclear. An Air Force golf course and sports facility are located in the center of Gwonseon District, which is shaped like the letter ‘U’.

The city plans to separately purchase the golf course and develop it as a neighborhood park, but negotiations with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Air Force units, which began in October last year, have shown little progress. Recently, the city has been struggling with compensation issues. Kim, 55, a resident of Gwonseon-dong, emphasized, “As high-rise apartments are being built around the golf course, residents here will likely have to endure the sound of golf swings constantly”.

As the city faces delays in purchasing land from other local governments and agencies within the urban development project site, resulting in expected deformed development structures, voices criticizing the city's complacent coordination efforts are growing louder.

Regarding this, a city official said, “The Hwaseong City administrative jurisdiction has been excluded from development from the very beginning, so there should be no major issues, and we are in ongoing negotiations with the Air Force units to purchase the golf course separately from the Gwonseon District development. Since there will be no major hindrance to the urban development project, we are proceeding according to schedule”.