Jersey City-based Panepinto Properties will oversee a $5.1 billion development effort in South Korea, including a new headquarters for Korean Air Lines.

The independently owned and operated real estate development company and its affiliate, Panepinto Global Partners, announced Aug. 5 signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Incheon City, South Korea.

Located on Yeongjong Island, the project will rise opposite the Incheon International Airport. In addition to the new base for South Korea’s top full-service carrier, the development is slated to include thousands of residential units, tourism and entertainment options along with various commercial and public facilities, according to Panepinto.

Following its impending merger with Asiana Airlines, Korean Air Lines is consolidating and relocating its offices and facilities. The airline will occupy all of the planned office space at the project.

Spanning two adjacent development districts, the work will include:

• 19.38 million square feet (1.8 million square meters) of total buildable above-ground area
• 3.6 million square feet (330,000 square meters) of office space
• 7,000 residential units
• 1,000 officetel units

The high-rise buildings will reach 59 – 79 stories, according to Panepinto, and integrate landscaped parks and other entertainment offerings.

Incheon Mayor Jeongbok Yoo as well as Panepinto Properties and Panepinto Global Partners principals signed the agreement during a recent visit to Jersey City.

Looking back, and ahead

During a separate ceremony, Incheon Mayor Jeongbok Yoo joined his Jersey City counterpart, Steven Fulop, and other local city officials as well as Panepinto executives to unveil an update to the waterfront’s Korean War Memorial.

Panepinto Properties along with Veterans Affairs Director Juliet Health and Human Services Director Stacey Flanagan led the charge to update the memorial with a new inscription. The changes highlight Incheon’s significant role during the conflict and feature a drawing of Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who led U.S. and United Nations forces during the conflict.

‘We have to work together’

During the ceremony, Joseph Panepinto Jr. elaborated on the historical significance of the September 1950 Battle of Incheon. “It really did save the country, and the freedoms and democracy South Korea has become today,” he said commenting on MacArthur’s landing of troops that changed the tide of the war.

Yoo expressed his gratitude.

“We have to work together, he said. “It is such a great honor and privilege to be dedicating this war memorial park here in Hudson County. Incheon city will not forget the assistance you made for us. I look forward to further friendship between Incheon of Korea and New Jersey and Jersey City.”

“Leveraging nearly five decades of expertise in developing coastal cities, we are thrilled to embark on this initiative in such a strategically significant location,” said Joseph Panepinto Jr. of Panepinto Global Partners. “This large-scale, multi-faceted project underscores Incheon’s emerging role as a global hub and aligns with our commitment to fostering international collaboration and sustainable urban growth.”

Panepinto, which has worked on major projects in South Korea dating back to 2008, highlighted the Seoul-Incheon International Airport’s prominence.

In 2023, the Seoul-Incheon International Airport ranked fourth world wide. The year before, it was the second-busiest airport by cargo traffic and this year it is third for the number of international passenger movements. Following the opening of Terminal 2 in 2018, the project’s final phase expects to wrap up this year.

The work will raise the airport’s capacity to 100 million passengers per year.

Support

“Yeongjong International City, which is connected to the world’s best airport, ground-linked transportation network, and ports, and has been designated as a free economic zone, making it advantageous for attracting businesses, is the optimal location for an aviation complex cultural city,” remarked Yoo said. “Through close cooperation with Panepinto, Korean Air, and others, we will create a special aviation city where culture is integrated and Incheon takes another leap forward as a leading aviation city.”

Panepinto also highlighted the impact of several ongoing infrastructure projects that will benefit the new development. Those include the Yeongjong-Cheongna Bridge, enhancing connectivity by providing pedestrian and vehicular passage, and the GTX High-Speed Rail Line. With a station directly accessible from the development site in the works, the Korean government’s plan will connect Incheon Airport to central Seoul and beyond.