Discussions are intensifying regarding the location of a new administrative office in Sanaemyeon, Hwacheon County, with a total project cost of 13 billion won.
Hwacheon County has narrowed down potential sites to two options: the reconstruction of the current office and a new building across the road. Key considerations include resident convenience, administrative efficiency, project costs, and the potential use of the existing 38-year-old office.
According to local leaders, 21 village heads will gather resident opinions until a meeting scheduled for the 22nd. The Sanaemyeon office will compile these views and report them to Hwacheon County, which plans to incorporate the feedback into the new office's development direction.
At a resident briefing held on the 14th at the Sanae Comprehensive Cultural Center, over 100 attendees discussed six to seven potential sites. Following this, the county officially narrowed the options to the current office site and the site across the road.
The new office will be developed as a standalone building with a total project cost of 13 billion won. The county is currently seeking 6.5 billion won in national funding. The timeline for design, construction, and completion has yet to be finalized.
Building a new office on the current site would maintain accessibility for residents familiar with the administrative center and reduce the burden of acquiring new land and related administrative procedures. However, this option would require operating a temporary office during construction, leading to additional costs and potential inconveniences for residents and staff.
Constructing the new office across the road would allow the existing office to remain operational during the project, ensuring continuity of administrative services and providing more space and access to nearby public parking. However, this site has a higher proportion of privately owned land, which would increase land acquisition costs and necessitate valuation and negotiations with landowners.
There is also interest in how the current office will be utilized if the new office is relocated. The existing building, which received usage approval on January 22, 1988, has a total floor area of 1,310 square meters and has served as a hub for resident registration, various certification issuances, and agricultural and welfare consultations for over 38 years.
Should the office relocate, there are discussions about repurposing the current building for community programs, meetings, and recreational activities. However, no official plans have been confirmed, and further evaluations regarding the building's condition, remodeling costs, and management are necessary after the site decision.
As the Chuseok holiday approaches, returning residents are also showing interest in the new office's construction and relocation. The current office, which has been a central part of the community for decades, holds significant memories for residents in their 50s and 60s.
Gil Mo, a graduate of Sanae Elementary, Middle, and High Schools now living in Seoul, expressed, "While I welcome the construction of a new office to replace the old, the current building holds many memories for our generation. In the past, the office was an important institution where residents resolved various issues and served as a community cornerstone."
He added, "As a child, the office felt like an authoritative institution that was hard to access. I hope it can be transformed into a space where residents can easily visit and communicate while preserving the memories and history built over the years."
The site decision is also linked to the future transportation and tourism environment in Sanaemyeon. The Gwangdeok Tunnel, connecting Ildong-myeon in Pocheon City and Sanaemyeon in Hwacheon County, is scheduled to open in 2031. Once completed, travel time between Pocheon Ildong and Hwacheon Sachang-ri is expected to decrease from approximately 26 minutes to just 5 minutes.
Hwacheon County plans to develop a 6 billion won "Central Peninsula Arboretum" in Samil-ri and a 3.5 billion won horticultural garden in Sachang-ri between 2028 and 2032, around the time of the tunnel's opening. There are calls for the new office to be approached from a long-term perspective that connects these tourism resources, local businesses, and new traffic flows.
A village head from a community distant from Sachang-ri noted, "Residents are not only concerned about the office's location but also about when tourism projects will start and when the local economy will recover. Regardless of where it is built, the office must be a space that residents can actively use and that contributes to local development."
Another village head from Sachang-ri remarked, "If each village has different preferences for the location, it will be difficult to reach a conclusion. Even if one of the two candidate sites is chosen, we must consider resident convenience, the scale of Sanaemyeon, and its significance as a tourist city."
The site decision marks the starting point for the new office's construction. The county must compare land acquisition costs, temporary office operating expenses, accessibility, parking conditions, administrative continuity, and the potential use of the existing office based on the same criteria.
Hwacheon County Mayor Kim Se-hoon has identified the promotion of the tourism industry in Sanaemyeon as a key task, making this site decision a test of how the county's vision can be translated into physical space.
Regardless of which site is selected, the county must adequately explain the advantages and rationale for each option to residents. The success of the project will depend on whether the new office can serve as a convenient administrative space while preserving residents' memories and contributing to the evolving tourism environment and local economy.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.