Seoul to transform former Seongdong detention center site into youth and community cultural hub

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday it will launch a public-private partnership competition — known as a "site-open private investment project" — targeting Special Planning Zone 4 within the former Seongdong Detention Center district in the first half of this year.

The project is a flagship public-private development model in which the city combines private creativity and investment to deliver high-quality social infrastructure on underutilized city-owned land.

The competition site is Special Planning Zone 4 within the district unit planning area of the former Seongdong Detention Center. Since the detention center relocated to the Munjeong Legal Complex, the broader site has been under development as a mixed-use residential, commercial and cultural town. The site, to be developed under the name "Songpa Creative Innovation," sits in a transit-oriented area adjacent to Ogeum Station, served by subway lines 3 and 5, and is slated to include 1,240 apartment units.

Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH) is currently developing parcels within the district, including sites for apartment housing (Special Planning Zones 2 and 3) and a community hub (Zone 6). A neighboring cultural and sports complex (Zone 5) received its initial proposal in January and is proceeding through the statutory private investment review process. The city expects functional links and synergies between that facility and the Zone 4 project to significantly enrich the cultural infrastructure of the Garak-dong area.

Because the site was secured through public contribution specifically as "youth-designated land," facilities for young people take top priority as a mandatory requirement. Accordingly, a youth cultural center has been designated as the core mandatory facility for this competition and must account for at least 30 percent of the total floor area. Private developers may also creatively propose a range of additional primary and ancillary facilities consistent with the project's objectives.

In terms of spatial planning, connectivity with surrounding facilities and street-level activation on lower floors are the central priorities. To create synergies with the planned performance venue (Zone 5) and the adjacent apartment complex, the design must link the main entrance with public pedestrian pathways and establish open, pedestrian-centered public spaces.

The city posted detailed site-specific guidelines on its design competition website Tuesday. A project briefing to preview upcoming competition sites is scheduled for Sunday.

Following the competition process, the city plans to select a preferred proposer in October. That proposer will then work with the city to develop a detailed project plan.

"Through this competition, we aim to add private creative vision to deliver spaces where young people can grow and thrive, while giving local residents a cultural anchor in their everyday lives," said Ahn Dae-hee, the city's director of future space planning.