In a major step for the massive $25 billion New Songdo City South Korea apartments development in Incheon, South Korea, the project's developers said today that more than 2,000 units in its first-phase residential component have been sold for $1 billion.

The new residents were chosen by lottery from more than 60,000 applicants out of the approximately 75,000 visitors who came to the sales office during three days in May. “It's very unusual to see something like that happen in the U.S. or Europe; not so in Asia,” Gale International president & CEO John Hynes told CPN today by telephone from Incheon where it was already June 15. The 2,145 condominiums' location in the new development, and the properties' future potential appreciation, were likely the main draws. “The challenge for us was to convince the homebuyer that all this work is actually going to take place," he said.

Gale is developing New Songdo City in a joint venture with POSCO E&C, a unit of a South Korean steel company. When fully built out on 1,500 acres of reclaimed waterfront land, the project will encompass 50 million square feet of office space, 30 million square feet of residential, 10 million square feet of retail, another 10 million square feet of public space, and 5 million square feet of hotels.

Envisioned as an international business city, New Songdo City will be linked to Incheon's airport by a $1 billion bridge slated for completion in 2009. “The government is betting to expand international business trade in Korea into the next century,” Hynes said.

Located on a 25-acre site, the 1st World complex will consist of 6.3 million square feet of residential space and 400,000 square feet of retail. In all, the residential portion will consist of 12 buildings: four 65-story towers, four 25-story towers, and four low-rise buildings. The $125 million, 300,000 square-foot first phase of the convention center is already under construction. The $150 million park next to the 1st World complex, an international school, and a golf course are all scheduled to begin this fall. Next year, the team expects to begin construction of 3 million square feet of speculative office space in four towers.