NH Investment& Securities Co. is expected to buy one of four buildings of the Parc One complex whose construction had been suspended in 2010 due to legal battles between the land owner and the complex developer, helping to put back construction of the skyscrapers back on track.

According to the investment banking industry on Sunday, NH Investment & Securities has agreed to buy the Office Tower Ⅱ with Y22 Development in charge of construction of the Parc One complex that will be composed of two office buildings, a hotel and a shopping mall. The two parties are expected to sign a contract early this week for a purchase of 700 billion won ($610 million). The securities company will invest between 100 billion to 200 billion won and pool the rest from affiliates of NongHyup Financial Group Inc., pension funds and asset management companies. With the money, the Parc One project will likely resume the construction suspended for six years.

The complex will be built on the land owned by the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, a religion founded by Korean Moon Sun-myung, that is located in the country’s financial district Yeouido, Seoul. The 56-story building with seven underground floors and a floor area of 167,306 square meters that NH Investment & Securities has agreed to buy would be the third tallest building in Yeouido, following the Parc One’s 72-story Office Tower I and 55-story IFC Seoul. The deal is relatively cheaper than comparative properties as the ownership to the land would remain under the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, said an official of the industry, adding the building would cost about 15 million won per 3.3 square meters.

After the purchase, NH Investment & Securities will likely resell its stakes in the building for profit taking instead of leasing out the building. Once the final contract is signed, the leading manager of the project will be changed to NH Investment & Securities from current KB Kookmin Bank. The bank also won’t need to proceed with the plan to lure investment from the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) for Parc One.

The Parc One project to be built on a 46,465 square meter site of former parking lot of the religious foundation broke ground in 2007 with an investment of 2.3 trillion won, but construction came to a stop in 2010 due to the legal battles between the religious foundation and Y22 Development. The developer won the suit and is trying to finish construction by 2020 upon drawing investment.

By Song Gwang-sup and Ko Min-seo

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