A Brand-New City

Real Estate Development
John Hynes '76
President & CEO,
Gale International, LLC

John B. Hynes III ’76 is a mega-city developer; he is guiding the creation of New Songdo City—“a brand-new city, built from the ground up, in the perfect setting.”

As populations around the globe migrate to urban centers, as Asian countries increase their impact on the global economy, as commerce continues to stimulate global roots, the feasibility of master planning brand-new cities, mega-cities, is real.

John, as CEO and managing partner of the real estate development and investment firm Gale International, is well along the path of developing a new city at the “Gateway to Northeast Asia,” as Songdo’s Web site proclaims.

New Songdo City, now known as the Songdo International Business District (IBD), has been called the “Hong Kong of the 21st century” and “the Venice of Northeast Asia” by media outlets around the globe.

The project partners, guided by Gale International’s mission to put people first in innovative community developments, describe in detail a “fully integrated, synergistic, mixed-use environment” master-planned city to meet the needs of the people who work and live there. …As true visionary thinkers we are committed to utilizing the latest ideas, resources and technological advancements to achieve settings of the future, today.”

“The progress of the project is moving at a speed that is unimaginable in the West,” says John. “By the end of this year, nearly $10 billion worth of development will be under way, including the Northeast Asia Trade Tower, which will be Songdo’s signature building and upon completion will be the tallest building in Korea; the Convention Center; hotels; several commercial skyscrapers; the International School; Central Park; the start of over ten million square feet of retail; the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea; and several residential projects. The infrastructure implemented by the government of Korea includes a spectacular 7.4-mile bridge that will connect Songdo to Incheon International Airport, a new highway connecting Songdo to Seoul, and a new subway line. The pieces to this vast puzzle are now really coming together.

 “It is awe-inspiring to know that we are doing something that has never really been done before—designing, developing and building an entire city from the ground up. Our goals might seem lofty, but I really think they are attainable—to build one of the greenest, most sustainable, most ubiquitous cities in the world, with an unmatched quality of life. It is really important for us to have as partners the “best in class” for every component. The International School is a great example—with Milton Academy as a partner, International School Services providing the curriculum, an advisory board comprised of some of the world’s leading educators, and private advisory services from researchers based at Harvard University, the International School will set the standard for college preparatory schools not only in Asia, but around the globe. Songdo truly values quality of life above bricks and mortar.”

From the Songdo Web site, http://www.songdo.com, we draw a profile of this ambitious venture, now in its fifth year of implementation and, according to Gale International, right on track.

New Songdo City

Size
1,376-acre (built on reclaimed land “about the size of midtown Manhattan”)
500,000 people

Location
South Korea, 40 miles southwest of Seoul

Cost
$25 billion

Timeline

• Joint venture agreement: July 2001
• Completion date: 2014
• So far: Many Phase I projects under way including an international preparatory school, Convention Center, hotels, Central Park, Northeast Asia Trade Tower and several other commercial skyscrapers.

Rationale

• Designed and planned as an international business district—a financial and logistics hub
  
  “The South Korean Ministry of Trade and Finance expects the GDP of Northeast Asia—a region that includes northern China, eastern Russia, the Koreas, and Japan—to account for 30 percent of global GDP by 2020. The development team hopes to create a premier location for multinational firms to headquarter their northeast Asian operations.”
• The city will be a ‘Free Economic Zone,’ with tax incentives, low-interest loans, and friendly permitting processes.
• Korea:
  —Fourth-largest economy in Asia
  —Eleventh-largest economy in the world
  —Center of trade: United States, Europe, Asia

The Master Plan

• “A city in perfect balance”
• Collects ideas from all the cities of the world
• 50 million square feet of office space; 30 million square feet of residential space, 10 million square feet of retail, 5 million square feet of hotel space and 10 million square feet of green space
• Residential Life:
  —More than 9,000 new “homes” (apartments, condominiums)
  —Easy access for every resident to schools, health care, cultural activities, athletic venues
• One of the first international real-estate joint ventures in the history of South Korea
• Partners
  —Gale International: real estate developer working on plans in Korea, China, Boston, New York and California
  —POSCO E&C: POSCO Engineering and Construction Company, subsidiary of POSCO Steel
  —City of Incheon, South Korea

Structural Highlights

• 65-story Northeast Asia Trade Tower
  —first landmark building in the commercial hub
• Convention Center
• Central Park
• Incheon Second Airport Bridge (completion planned for 2009) linking Songdo to Incheon International Airport
• Cultural Center: opera house and concert hall
• Golf Course: Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea
• Songdo International Hospital
• New Songdo City International School developed in partnership with Milton Academy
• Retail malls and stores, designed by Taubman Centers for international shoppers
• Central Park
  —100+ acres
  —footbridges, walking paths, sculpture
  —seawater canal and water taxi
  —Songdo International Museum
  —Songdo Ecotarium: aquarium, fresh water and marine jabotats

Innovations

• Advanced technology:
  All major information systems (residential, medical, business, governmental, etc.) will share data, and computers will be built into homes, streets and office buildings. The city’s infrastructure will be a test bed for new technologies. A resident’s smart-card house key…can be used to get on the subway, pay a parking meter, see a movie, borrow a free public bicycle and so on. “Smart cards will be anonymous, won’t be linked to your identity, and if lost you can quickly cancel the card and reset your door locks,” according to John Kim who leads the U-city planning.
  
  
• Sustainability Principles:
  New Songdo City International Business District (IBD) in South Korea, being developed by New York’s Gale International, has been accepted as a pilot project and partner by the U.S. Green Building Council for its LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) certification, the first national standard for neighborhood design.
  
  The LEED-ND rating system for green urbanism will be a tool to help planners and developers create communities that not only protect the environment, but also address important public health issues. Songdo International Business District will play a pioneering role in helping to set this standard for sustainable urban planning and smart growth based on criteria such as density, proximity to transit, environmental preservation, mixed housing type, and pedestrian-friendly design.
  
  Songdo IBD is unusual in that it is seeking LEED-ND certification for an entire city. By its very design—the result of a ground-up, master plan based on sustainability principles—Songdo will be an environmental standout not only in Asia, where many urban areas are in a state of environmental crisis, but in the world. Songdo is one of only three LEED-ND projects in Asia (two much smaller projects are in China), and one of only five outside the United States and Canada. Indeed, Songdo IBD is by far the largest project outside North America to be included in the 18-month pilot program.
  
  
• A “Synergy City”
  New Songdo City [is] defined as an urban center where the widest range of activities would take place. While as a hub city it reaches out to attract participants from abroad, it also aims at internal self-sufficiency. This is defined as a “Synergy City.”
  
  City residents will be able to live in a variety of settings, such as garden apartments or more dense urban areas. They will be able to educate their children in local public schools or in international curriculum academies. An advanced research hospital is close by.
  
  Visitors and residents alike will be able to engage in commerce, both international and local, and be able to attend conventions and trade shows. There will be ample shopping in department stores and local markets. The Central Park Museum and Ecotarium provide for cultural and recreational activities, along with golf, tennis and sailing.
  
  Songdo is designed as an organic whole. Except for industry and agriculture, which are typically found outside of cities, it completes a picture of modern life. This stands in contrast to most newly built planned urban centers, which are constructed for more specific purposes. The variety of its use will allow Songdo to adapt over time to future economic and cultural influences and to harbor new uses which cannot be accurately predicted at the time of its creation.
  
  
• Songdo International School (NSCIS)
  NSCIS broke ground on March 8, 2006. It will be a 40,000-square-meter state-of-the-art private preparatory school. The curriculum will be run by International School Services (ISS), the world’s leader in providing a comprehensive range of quality educational services for schools, educators, families and corporations.
  
  Milton Academy signed an?agreement with NSCIS in October 2005,?forging an International School Partnership. NSCIS has also contracted advisory services from researchers based at Harvard University to further enhance the design of the program. The NSCIS completion date is estimated at June 2008.

 

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