Dongseoul Bus Terminal, located in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul, is to be redeveloped into a sailboat-shaped mixed-use development, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s “100-Year Urban Planning Initiative.”

The announcement comes after Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal, part of Manhattan's Hudson Yards, an 11-hectare, $25 billion real estate development on top of a mid-19th-century railyard with housing, office buildings, a hotel, a seven-story shopping mall, public square and an art center.

Oh was reportedly inspired by the proposed project to overhaul the Port Authority Bus Terminal, built in 1950 with a second wing added in 1979, which seeks to reconstruct the existing terminal and add four high-rise towers by 2031.

The Seoul city government plans to redevelop Dongseoul Bus Terminal into a 357,000-square-meter, 40-story mixed-used development, with the bus terminal in the basement, a shopping mall and business facilities on the ground floor. There will be a panoramic observatory overlooking the Han River on the top floor and a green space in the middle of the building.

At 47,907 square meters, Dongseoul Bus Terminal, which opened in 1987, is one of the biggest bus terminals in Seoul, with 112 bus routes and more than 1,000 intercity buses transiting there every day. The facilities have become worn down after 36 years and the terminal has struggled to alleviate traffic congestion, according to the city government.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to complete the detailed district plan and receive construction approval and permits by 2024 to finish construction by 2025.