Lotte Engineering and Construction (Lotte E&C) has put apartments in the Godeok No. 7 Residential Area up for sale, with the title of Godeok Lotte Castle Veneluce. It is the first residential area, known as “the cream of the new towns” around Seoul to be put on the market from the Godeok Reconstruction Area, which is made up of 20 residential buildings with 29 floors and four basement floors apiece, including 1,859 apartments; 867 of those will be sold to general buyers.
Sixty-six units with 59 square meters in space are on the market, plus another 777 units measuring 84 square meters apiece and 44 units at 122 square meters.
When the planned apartment buildings are complete, the Godeok Reconstruction Area will be home to some 20,000, making it a major town in the Godeok area of Seoul City. It will boast excellent transportation facilities readily accessible to the area, including the Sangil-dong No. 5 Subway Station and the Godeok No. 5 Subway Station. In addition the Cheonho Boulevard and the Seoul Outer-circulatory Highway provide access to Seoul and nearby towns. Some 220 apartment units in the newly built Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul are likely to become the most expensive residential spaces in South Korea, being offered for a record-breaking 80 million won ($68,500) per 3.3 square meters.
The Lotte Group construction arm held a meeting on Dec. 13 with potential investors for the residential and office units located in the 123-story skyscraper. Sales of the properties target the “VVIPs” and top-class businessmen in and out of the country looking for high-end accommodation service, easy access to work and a “breathtaking” view, Lotte E&C officials explained.
The residential units, called Signiel Residences, will be offered for from 5 billion won to 30 billion won, according to industry sources. Some of the units are expected to exceed the appraisal value of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s residence in Yongsan, central Seoul, at 17.7 billion won. The residence of the nation’s richest man has been registered as the most expensive house here since 2005, but the record is expected to be replaced by a Signiel residence, if it sells.
Lotte E&C has been seeking investors as it completed construction of the building earlier this month and requested the city government approve starting operations. The city government’s approval process is likely to take a month, but could possibly take longer, the company said.
Lotte World Tower, which cost 4 trillion won to build, is the tallest building in Korea. The project was carried out under the vision of Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, who wanted to build a landmark skyscraper to represent the nation’s economic prosperity.
Some market analysts, however, have remained skeptical about sales of Lotte World Tower apartments and offices, saying it will be difficult to lure investors amid a slowing economy.
Lotte, however, remained confident in the properties being targeted for the superrich around the world, who are less affected by economic conditions, and businesses looking for new properties as investment.
“When compared to skyscrapers in China and those high-rise buildings beside Central Park in New York, the price of (Lotte World Tower’s Signiel) is actually lower,” a Lotte official said. Call 1811-2277 for details. A sample of the apartments is on display at 187, Sangil-dong, Gangdong-ku, Seoul.
