[Edaily Reporter LEE JUNGHYUN ] On the 26th, it took just over five minutes to walk from Daecheong Station on Subway Line 3 in Ilwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The entrance to Maru Park at the Tancheon Water Recycling Center lies among the tall, straight trees lining the path. The park is quite large; by the time I walked past the sports facilities and reached the central plaza, beads of sweat had formed on my forehead. The Tancheon Stream flowed past the sewage treatment facilities, which emitted a “humming” sound, and the Lotte World Tower in Jamsil was clearly visible above it.

The Tancheon Water Recycling Center, which Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has counter-proposed as a potential site for the supply of 10,000 to 13,000 housing units, is a large-scale wastewater treatment facility with a total area of 410,000 square meters. It is responsible for treating 900,000 cubic meters of wastewater per day from southeastern Seoul. The upper level is currently used as a neighborhood park for residents, featuring a large parking lot and Maru Park. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has unveiled a master plan to move part of the facility underground and relocate it, then develop approximately half of the entire site into a youth-focused complex.

The location offers excellent conditions. It is adjacent to Daecheong Station, where Line 3 and the Suin-Bundang Line intersect, and Suseo Station (SRT), providing a robust public transportation network and easy access to the Eastern Arterial Road. Bordering Tancheon Stream, it offers excellent access to waterfront areas, and since it is not far from Daemo Mountain, residents can enjoy both “forest-side” and “waterfront” amenities simultaneously. Across Tancheon Stream lies the Jamsil residential area, while the Daechi-dong private academy district extends toward Yangjae Stream. Major medical facilities, such as Samsung Seoul Hospital, are within easy reach, and unlike the Yongsan Park site, there are no soil contamination issues, allowing construction to begin without the need for remediation.

Local residents generally welcome the plan to build an apartment complex in place of the Tancheon Water Recycling Center. Ms. A, a woman in her 60s who lives in Iwon-dong, said, “On cloudy days or in the early morning, the foul odor often stings my nose,” adding, “Since they’re removing a facility that people tend to avoid and building apartments instead, I don’t think any residents will oppose it.” However, Ms. B, a woman in her 50s whom we met at Maru Park, expressed her opposition, saying, “There isn’t another park of this size nearby, so as someone who uses it frequently, I’ll be sad to see it go.”

While there are concerns about potential traffic congestion resulting from the construction of large-scale public housing, there was a strong sense of anticipation regarding the relocation of the undesirable facility. Given the area’s many low-density, aging residential neighborhoods, the development of a housing complex of over 10,000 units—primarily targeting young people—could potentially revitalize the stagnant local commercial district.

Mr. C, a representative from a licensed real estate agency in Iwon-dong, said, “If the undesirable facilities lining the Tancheon River—from the Tancheon Water Recycling Center to the Korea Gas Safety Corporation and the Gangnam Resource Recovery Facility—were to disappear, this area would become one of the prime locations in Gangnam,” but added, “There’s a general sense of skepticism about whether such a large-scale sewage treatment facility can actually be relocated and placed underground in a short period of time, as the city plans.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Government maintains that it has already established a master plan for the modernization and relocation of these facilities two years ago. It argues that, with only administrative procedures remaining—such as the eligibility review by the Public Investment Management Center (PIMAC) under the Ministry of Economy and Finance—it can expedite the process to ensure a rapid supply of housing.

The construction industry, however, continues to question the plan’s effectiveness in alleviating the immediate housing shortage. No matter how quickly administrative procedures are expedited, the process of relocating the sewage treatment plant—a critical piece of infrastructure—remains a major hurdle. Construction cannot begin until existing facilities are dismantled—which can only happen after new facilities are built on the new site or the underground installation is completed. Given the time required, it is inevitable that it will take a considerable amount of time for housing to actually reach the market, leading to criticism that this approach is insufficient to prevent the supply cliff expected within the next two to three years.

Kim Seong-hwan, an associate researcher at the Korea Construction Industry Research Institute, noted, “While it is not technically impossible to build apartments above ground after partially relocating the facilities underground, an increase in construction costs is inevitable.” He added, “Since some facilities must be relocated to other areas, the key to the project’s success will be how quickly an alternative site with sufficient community acceptance can be found.”