Former Department Store Site to Become New Apartments ... ‘Competition Is This Fierce?’

[Financial News] Sites formerly occupied by closed big-box stores and department stores are being transformed into new apartment complexes. Since most were in locations with good access to public transportation and roads, they are considered to have “proven locations.”
According to the real estate industry on the 30th, projects that redevelop retail sites into residential facilities are receiving favorable reviews in the market.
A prime example is Summit Limited Namcheon, being built on the former site of Mega Mart in Namcheon-dong, Suyeong District, Busan. Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. bought the site of Mega Mart’s Namcheon branch, which opened in July 2002 and closed in 2024, for about 630 billion won and moved ahead with plans to develop it as a residential complex. In the first-priority subscription round last July, the complex recorded an average competition ratio of 22.62 to 1 and a peak ratio of 326 to 1.
Suji District Office Lotte Castle Hive L, a private rental apartment complex built on the site of the Lotte Mart Suji branch in Yongin in September 2021, drew 162,683 applicants for 715 units, for an average competition ratio of 227 to 1.
Projects slated for new supply by year-end are also drawing attention.
GS Engineering & Construction’s Armuze Xi is scheduled to be launched in November on the former site of Homeplus Ansan in Seongpo-dong, Sangnok District, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The project will comprise six buildings, rising from six basement levels to 49 floors above ground: four apartment buildings and two officetel buildings. It will have 984 apartment units and 370 officetel units, for a total of 1,354 units. The site offers access to the neighborhoods of both Seongpo-dong and Jungang-dong, and residents will be able to use the currently operating Jungang Station on Seoul Subway Line 4 and the Suin–Bundang Line.
LOTTE Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. will supply a mixed-use residential complex with up to 49 floors and 417 units in total this December on the former site of the Homeplus Dongdaemun store in Yongdu-dong, Dongdaemun District, Seoul. The site offers good access to major central business districts, including Jongno and Euljiro. Nearby, development of the Cheongnyangni Redevelopment Promotion District and expansion of the transport network, including GTX lines B and C, are also planned.

[email protected] Kwon Jun-ho Reporter