Homeplus, E-mart, CJ factory sites eyed for housing as Gangseo-gu semi-industrial zone opens up

Private development activity is picking up across Gangseo-gu as the Seoul Metropolitan Government moves to tap semi-industrial zones as a source of new housing supply. With negotiations underway over the Homeplus Gayang branch site, among others, Gangseo-gu has begun working on a plan to proactively manage development direction and infrastructure across the Gayang, Deungchon and Yeomchang-dong corridor as a single zone.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Gangseo-gu, the city has been operating a task force to draw up district unit plans for semi-industrial zones and recently forwarded the results of expert consultations on building apartment complexes on non-residential land within those zones to the Gangseo-gu urban planning division.

Gangseo-gu has also been conducting a study since April on an integrated infrastructure management plan for the semi-industrial zone. Because individual projects vary in timing and scale, the district aims to prevent roads, pedestrian paths, parking, public contributions and community facilities from being developed in a piecemeal fashion, and to examine how to address infrastructure shortfalls and coordinate links between projects.

These moves are tied to the city's deregulation of semi-industrial zones. In March last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government raised the maximum floor-area ratio for district unit plans that include apartment construction in semi-industrial zones from 250 percent to as high as 400 percent. It also clarified that sites of 3,000 square meters or more must establish a district unit plan before building apartments, and removed area restrictions on sites eligible for mixed industrial-residential development.

Seoul's semi-industrial zones cover roughly 20 square kilometers, more than 80 percent of which is concentrated in the southwestern districts of Yeongdeungpo, Guro and Gangseo. As regulations are adjusted to allow housing and commercial or industrial facilities to be developed together on sites where original industrial functions have weakened due to factory relocations, interest is growing in how large non-residential parcels within Gangseo-gu will be used going forward.

The Homeplus Gayang branch site in Gayang-dong is already being reviewed by the task force for conversion to an apartment complex. Located at 431 Yangcheon-ro, the roughly 11,400-square-meter semi-industrial site is being developed by mPlus, an affiliate of MDM Group. mPlus has been reviewing the project with the goal of submitting a development plan to the Seoul Metropolitan Government in the second half of this year. "Consultations are under way with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Gangseo-gu and other relevant authorities on the premise of building an apartment complex," an mPlus official said. "It is still at an early stage and the scale of housing and specific development method have not been finalized."

Separate from the task force, private developers are pushing ahead with projects across Gangseo-gu's semi-industrial zone, and whether those efforts will ultimately expand housing supply is drawing close attention.

At the former E-mart Gayang branch site nearby, a revision to the existing development plan is under consideration. The roughly 22,900-square-meter parcel at 449-19 Gayang-dong had been slated for a knowledge industry center after demolition of the existing E-mart building. A revised plan now under review would instead create a mixed-use residential and commercial complex of around 600 units.

Conversion to residential use is further along at the former CJ Group factory site in Gayang-dong. The Seoul Metropolitan Government last month approved an amended district unit plan for the area around 92-1 Gayang-dong. The plan converts one parcel previously designated for a knowledge industry center into an apartment site to supply around 960 units, while the remaining land will accommodate a knowledge industry center along with commercial and retail facilities, preserving some industrial function while adding a residential component.

A stretch of large non-residential semi-industrial land continues into Deungchon-dong. The roughly 3,900-square-meter SBS public hall site in Deungchon-dong is the subject of a development project commissioned by Mastern Investment Management. A recently released design proposal identified a data center as the primary use, though scenarios combining rental housing or office facilities depending on future market conditions were also included.

The roughly 6,900-square-meter semi-industrial site at 640-7 and 640-8 Deungchon-dong, formerly used as TJ Media's headquarters and factory, is another parcel drawing attention. TJ Media relocated its headquarters to Sangam-dong in Mapo-gu in 2021. While no concrete residential development plan has taken shape, the site's status as a large industrial and commercial property means any future change in land use will be closely watched.

The government separately announced on Aug. 13 a fast-track housing supply plan that includes a site near damaged land at Yeomchang neighborhood park in Gangseo-gu as a new public housing candidate, with a target of around 1,000 units — a move that could further raise development density across the area.

Ko Jun-seok, a professor at Yonsei University's Sangnam School of Management, said the semi-industrial zones in Yeomchang and Gayang are well positioned for housing. "They sit along the Han River, are close to the Magok district, and are connected to Yeouido via subway Line 9, making them highly accessible for live-work convenience," he said. "There is considerable room to use them as housing supply sites in areas with strong demand, which the government has been emphasizing."

Ko added that securing project viability is key to unlocking supply from non-residential land. "Since housing supply on non-residential sites requires cooperation from private developers, it is important to ensure projects are financially viable," he said. "Rather than imposing excessive public contribution burdens such as land donations, those requirements should be adjusted to a reasonable level and incentives created for private developers to participate — that is how the pace of supply can be accelerated."