The Stoop: The Atlantis of the Far East - "Songdo, SK"

Sooooo am I the last one to hear about Songdo, Korea? Actually, I'm not and by far. I'm still trying to figure out why I hadn't heard anything about this place prior to a couple of weeks ago. Personally, in my opinion.. any place mentioned comparitively in the same sentence as the Atlantis of Dubai, UAE is something worth my attention! Songdo, is a new City being constructed. It has been referred to the Atlantis of the Far East!! BIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGG things set Songdo apart from Atlantis. Songdo is the most expensive private owned property, not of the East or what have you but IN THE WORLD... Songdo, boasts a 40+ Billion dollar initiated budget. Talk about $tupid money... but rest asured that there are no dummies conjuring up this plan.


The second thing that sets Songdo apart is its projected outcome goal, to become the preeminent business hub of Asia, which will inevitably set the plate for Songdo's place as a global economic delight!!! So, who is behind this hugantic construction? The Korean government sought out, for a whole year, the perfect match to work with the highly esteemed Korean construction giant POSCO E&C. Gale International must have made a hell of an impression as they were the chosen partners with POSCO E&C and the City of Incheon, can we say (as Harlem's Jim Jones puts it) Baaaaaaliiiiiin!?!?! For those of you who are not familiar ( don't feel bad, neither was I lol) with Gale they have been behind projects such as One Lincoln of Boston, MA and IBIS Golf and Country Club of West Palm Beach, FL ... get familiar :-).

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Finally, what is Songdo.. well, I guess you can say (now) that its reputation has preceded it (SMH @ global economic news on CNN). Songdo is an international business hub located in South Korea, more specifically it is located along Incheon's waterfront and about 50 miles west of Seoul. It is being constructed with the sole purpose of providing a City equipped with every desirable aspect of urban living. The master collabo between Gale and PESCO will produce a City to be known, respected, and duplicated because of its integration of the most updated technology available (computers will be in everything everywhere) love this idea alone! 


Songdo will comprise of state of the art villas/condos, shopping centers, restaurants of all kinds, hospitals, convention centers, museums, art centers, concert halls, private and public schools.. just to name a few things... what excites me the most about the 1,500 acres of land aside from the fact that this will truly be a ubiquitous City is the redolent of NYC's central park, Venice' modern canal system, boulevards very similar to Paris, the Jack Nicklaus championship golf course etc... there is literally something here for everyone, no stones were left unturned!!! The estimated date of completion is set for 2020. With the plans construction starting back in 1994 I am very much impressed that something to this capacity could have been in motion in the early 90's (when I was just getting into high school). People have been able to move into the new condominiums beginning in August of this year (2009). Don't get too excited unless your rolling in the cash if your thinking of moving into the villas or condos.... they are starting off at a whopping 500,000 dollars YIKES <--- and many are going for twice or three times that price.. Believe it or not, which came as a surprise with the global economic crisis, people have bought up the available villas and condos and there is a waiting list unrolling as more and more living space is built..


Let's take a quick look at the down side possibilities of Songdo.. some are weary that this could become sterile urban theme park that will just put a lot of people in ignorant amounts of debt because of the inability to sustain itself while others exert that this is not meant to sustain itself nor will it have to. Large corporations are already bidding on space and location.. Sheraton opened its first hotel there and its grand opening was just this past August. I guess we will have to see how everything unfolds but I'm hoping for the best and I'm also hoping that we can hear a little more about this place in the US based media. There is no question that there is so much more to learn and know about this beautiful place. It has gained great recognition for being mindful and taking action in going green.. 40% of Songdo is green, now that's serious given all they want to accomplish.. 

I encourage you to take a look at the new City and get familiar.. maybe one day you will have the opportunity to travel abroad and check it out.. I am confident we will hear more about Songdo as it's success progresses...




Written By: Always Inspired
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