The only thing left to do is for house prices to rise… We also put a lot of effort into the Jamsil Daejang Apartments.

“Dreams come true,” residents cheer.

Promotion of remodeling of ‘Recents’ community in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul
“Resolving inconveniences for residents and building new communities will increase housing prices.”
“Can we use the long-term repair reserves like this… Concerns about an increase in management fees?”

“Now can we have coffee at a cafe in the community? Just thinking about it makes me happy.”

“Honestly, I didn’t think it would work. I was half expecting and half skeptical, but I’m really glad that community remodeling is being promoted.”

Among the large apartment complexes in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, ‘L·Re·T (Jamsil Els · Ricenz·Trigium)’, Ricenz is starting to remodel the community within the complex. We plan to build a new community, including a fitness center, golf driving range, cafe, GX room, library, and conference room, which are essential for new apartments these days.

According to the real estate industry on the 25th, more than two-thirds, or 67.2%, of the residents agreed to the permit for community facilities conducted by the Residents’ Representative Meeting (Yipui) of the Ricenz (5,563 households) apartment complex in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu.

Ricenz is a complex that rebuilt Jamsil Jugong Apartment Complex 2, built in 1976, and moved into the complex in July 2008. I moved in in 2008, so it’s been 16 years. Contrary to the status of Daejang Apartments, Ricenz does not have community facilities such as a sauna, gym, or golf course. There is no automatic elevator call system or piloti design in new apartments.

Then, the residents’ representative meeting decided to remodel the community facilities in the complex. It was decided to expand the public space for residents, which was initially 759 m2, to 2,086 m2. In this space, a new fitness center, golf driving range, cafe, GX room, library, etc. will be built. The plan is to build a new two-story wooden building in a space that has previously been used for simple activities such as yoga and art.

An official at Resents Enlistment said, “The complex community was old and small, so there was a lack of facilities,” and “We decided to pursue it because the residents’ use was low and there was a great demand for new facilities.” He added, “By expanding community facilities, we will improve the value of the complex and provide better welfare to residents.”

The response from residents is also enthusiastic. “Will our complex be equipped with various convenience facilities like other complexes?”, “The residents’ representative meeting is amazing for accomplishing the impossible,” “Resentz’s greatest long-awaited project has finally come true,” and “Dreams are coming true,” were generally welcoming reactions. There were a lot of these.

Remodeling community facilities is expected to be positive for housing prices. Jamsil-dong’s leading apartments, Jamsil Els, Ricenz, and Trizium, are all apartments that were rebuilt around the same time. The lack of community facilities was cited as a disadvantage, but it is expected to be relatively valuable.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s actual transaction price disclosure system, 84㎡ exclusively for Recentz was sold for 2.45 billion won on the 6th. 84㎡ exclusively for Jamsil Ls was sold for 2.4 billion won on the 9th of last month, and 84㎡ exclusively for Trizium was sold for 2.3 billion won last month, which is at a similar level.

A certified real estate agent in Jamsil-dong explained, “These apartments were moved in in 2008 or 2007, so the community facilities within the complex are not sufficient like apartments these days. If community facilities are built, I think house prices will definitely rise.”

Although there are generally positive voices, there are also concerns about community remodeling. This is because community remodeling is scheduled to be carried out using ‘long-term repair reserves’. Long-term repair reserves refer to the costs required to replace or repair major apartment facilities. The estimated cost is approximately 4.52 billion won.

A resident living in Ricenz explained, “If we use long-term repair reserves for community remodeling, won’t there be delays when problems arise in other areas? We need a way to manage repair costs efficiently or increase repair costs.”

Another resident expressed concern about an increase in management fees, saying, “Considering the problem of only some residents using the service, the input of personnel required for maintenance, and budget requirements, it seems that more money will be spent in the future.”

Meanwhile, last year, ‘Raemian Firstage’ in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu also announced a plan for a complete community remodeling plan and received a vote from residents to complete the agreement. There was a gym, sauna, swimming pool, golf driving range, etc., but it is said that the residents experienced inconvenience due to the old building since it was moved in in 2009.

However, there has been no significant progress since last year. An official from the Raemian Firstige management office said, “We have been going through an internal review process since the community remodeling project was confirmed last year,” and added, “A specific plan has not been established yet.”

Lee Song-ryeol, Hankyung.com reporter [email protected]