Landmarks
in New Songdo City

Breaking-ground for 65-Story Office Tower, Hotel and Central Park that will anchors the city as Northeast Asia's Business Hub

The groundbreaking for the $500 million, 65-story Northeast Asia Trade Tower, the signature commercial office tower in New Songdo City, was held on February 1, 2007 at the New Songdo Marketing Center, New Songdo City, Incheon. Also breaking ground are other key elements of New Songdo: the $100 million, 300-room Convention Center Hotel and the $200 million, 100-acre Songdo Central Park. Keynote remarks were given by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Kwon O-kyu and U.S. Amb.Alexander R. Vershbow. Additional remarks were offered by the Mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City, Ahn Sang-soo.
New Songdo City, a $25 billion project and the largest private real estate venture in the world, is being developed on 1,500 acres of reclaimed land along Incheon's waterfront by New Songdo City Development LLC, a 70/30 joint venture partnership between Gale International, a premier, international real estate development and investment company, and POSCO E&C, a subsidiary of Korean steel giant POSCO.
Rising more than one thousand feet above the Yellow Sea, the 65-story Northeast Asia Trade Tower will set the benchmark in Northeast Asia for a prestigious, globally oriented, 24-hour business complex offering a full complement of support services and amenities. It will be home to many leading international corporations and financial institutions. The Tower's retail space will feature the flagship boutiques of famous international fashion names. More than 200 rooms will be set aside in the top 20 floors for luxury hotel and extended stay apartments. This spectacular skyscraper, to be built by Daewoo International Corporation and POSCO E&C, and designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC, will feature an observation deck with sweeping vistas of the island-dotted Yellow Sea and nearby mountain peaks. Foreign direct investment from Morgan Stanley Real Estate, totaling $350 million, serves as the financial foundation for this next phase of Songdo construction.
The 25-story, $100 million Convention Center Hotel,
the first hotel in New Songdo City, will provide world class accommodations to international business travelers and visitors. This 495,000 square foot, 300-room property will be operated by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and will be located at the intersection of Central Park, the First World Towers residences and the Convention Center. The Convention Center Hotel will house restaurants, a health club, a business center and conference rooms. All 300 hotel rooms will offer state-of-the-art services and amenities. Immediately adjacent to the hotel is the 300,000 square foot Convention Center which will host international meetings, exhibitions and conventions. The Convention Center's Main Exhibition Hall will be one of the largest column-free spaces in the world. Future plans call for the Convention Center to be expanded to 1.2 million square feet.
Central Park will be a 100-acre oasis in the middle of Songdo offering the best in cultural and recreational activities.
This $200 million haven will comprise over 10percent of the total acreage of the city and is comparable in scale to New York City's Central Park, Boston Public Gardens or London's Hyde Park. The Songdo International Museum, for example, will be located in the park, which will feature scenic footbridges and walking paths, sculpture and art to delight the eye, and a seawater canal with water taxi service. In total, Songdo will be 40 percent green space, an unheard of amount in any urban setting. Central Park will be built by POSCO E&C. Beneath the park there will be a 1.79 million square foot parking garage with over 3,000 vehicle spaces and 60,000 square feet of retail and administrative space.
"Today's events are further evidence that a world-class city is taking shape that is designed to attract leading international investors and contribute to Korea's national objective of becoming a regional economic hub,"said Stanley C. Gale, Chairman of Gale International.
"The groundbreaking for the Northeast Asia Trade Tower,

the Convention Center Hotel and Central Park are key milestones in the development program scheduled for New Songdo City. Through the end of this year, we expect to have $9.39 billion in Songdo projects under construction representing 25 million square feet,"said John B. Hynes, III, President and CEO of Gale International.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Kwon said, "Incheon Free Economic Zone, which includes Songdo, is part of the Korean government's strategy to grow its economy by vitalizing value-added service industries and creating new jobs by attracting foreign and domestic investment. With billions of dollars in construction underway, today's groundbreaking signifies another landmark in Songdo's development, bringing it one step closer to emerging as a site of prosperity in Northeast Asia." "The Northeast Asia Trade Tower is key to the development of New Songdo City as a hub of economic activity in Northeast Asia, a goal we are committed to pursuing with our partners Gale International and POSCO E&C,"said Christopher J. Niehaus, Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley Real Estate.
Gale International is a premier, international real estate development and investment company headquartered in New York with offices in Boston; Irvine, California; Seoul and New Songdo, South Korea. Gale International is dedicated to creating dynamic environments in which people thrive. Commitment to quality and integrity is its core principle. Under the leadership of Stanley C. Gale, its Chairman and Managing Partner, and John B. Hynes, III, its CEO and Managing Partner, Gale International is actively pursuing development opportunities in Korea and elsewhere in Asia, Boston, California and New York.
New Songdo City, "The Gateway to Northeast Asia,"will be the first new city in the world designed and planned as an international business district. Designated a Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), Songdo will include fifty million square feet of office space, thirty million square feet of residential space, ten million square feet of retail, five million square feet of hotel space and ten million square feet of public space. Every conceivable cultural and recreational amenity will be available including a world class hospital, an international preparatory school, a Central Park, an art museum and a Jack Nicklaus golf course.
Mayor Ahn of Incheon City said, "Today's groundbreaking ceremony is the visible result of aggressive efforts to attract foreign investment. This is an opportunity to share IFEZ's dramatic progress with the rest of the world. NEATT's groundbreaking will serve as momentum for the further attraction of foreign investment. The success of IFEZ depends on the cooperation and support of Incheon citizens and businesspeople."New Songdo City, centrally located within the Yellow Sea Economic Basin, which comprises an economically active population of more than 200 million with a GDP of USD 1.3 trillion, will act as the business hub for multinational companies in Northeast Asia. This master-planned metropolis will be connected to the Incheon International Airport, one of the world's busiest, by a 7.4 mile highway bridge, and linked by subway to Seoul, 35 miles to the southwest. Day travel is easy to China and Japan's major business centers. More than one third of the world's population lives within a three and a half hour flying radius.
Among those present at the ground-breaking celebration luncheon were Cho Yong-kyung, vice president of POSCO E&C, Daewoo E& C President Park Chang-kyoo, and Hwang Young-key, chairman-CEO of Woori Financial Group. nw

John B. Hynes, III, president and CEO of Gale International

DPM Kwon Oh-kyu and Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo

An artist conception showing the signature commercial office tower, 65-story Northeast Asia Trade Tower, Convention Center Hotel and the mammoth Central Park.

Lee Hwan-kyun, commissioner of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, speaks during a luncheon.

Dignitaries, including DPM-Minister of Finance and Economy Kwon Oh-kyu, Incheon Mayor Ahn, Stanley C. Gale, chairman of Gale International, attend the ground-breaking ceremony of the 65-story Northeast Asia Trade Center, Hotel and Central Park.