Several luxury villas have been basically completed.
Reading Tip:
Along the banks of the Qi River in Anyang, it has become a battleground for developers. Recently, over 110 mu (approx. 18 acres) of prime land along the riverbank has drawn significant attention. Initially, a developer acquired farmland from villagers at an extremely low price under the guise of constructing a high-standard, fully-equipped nursing home.
Now, this developer has spent money to convert more than 70 mu of public construction land into urban residential land. Moreover, the main residential buildings are large villas ranging from over 200 square meters to over 500 square meters. The developer's actions have raised questions among the public.
Reader's Tip-off: Land designated for a nursing home is now being used to build large villas.
"Here, they're building a large cluster of villas. I heard that they were supposed to build a nursing home here; how did this people-oriented project go astray!?" In recent days, reporters have continuously received feedback from concerned readers stating that on the west bank of the Qi River in Hebi City, within a neighborhood called "Qi Water Garden," someone is working day and night to construct a cluster of luxurious villas. Upon receiving the information, the reporter conducted an investigation.
Yesterday, informants Mr. Li and Mr. Wang pointed to the panoramic view of the engineering plan at the entrance of the community and said that before 2004, when this area was still under the jurisdiction of Qi County, over 110 mu of farmland was requisitioned under the name of developing a nursing home for less than 100,000 yuan and sold to Hebi Jintaiyang Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. At the time, they believed it was a beneficial public welfare project for the country and its people, as everyone will grow old someday. However, after the land was requisitioned, there was no activity on the site, and it lay idle for several years.
In 2009, construction finally began, but it wasn't a nursing home. Instead, what was built were "luxurious villas."
Yesterday, after passing through two large advertising signs labeled "Jintaiyang Qi Water Garden, Spanish-style Villas," the reporter arrived at the "Jintaiyang Qi Water Garden" sales office.
A saleswoman introduced that the entire community covers over 100 mu, including more than 80 duplex and attached villas, as well as two multi-story and small high-rise residential buildings. Originally, it was planned to be a large nursing home, but now the nursing home has become just a "small outpost." When asked if many elderly people would live here in the future, the salesperson immediately denied it. She told the reporter that the land is only 80 meters from the Qi River, with excellent geographical location. The constructed villas range from over 200 square meters to over 500 square meters, with prices starting at around six to seven thousand yuan per square meter.
Planning Department: Buildings Are Not Villas, Planning Complies With Regulations
Can public construction land be easily converted into commercial housing land by simply paying a fee? If the planning changes, does it harm public welfare? Is this planning still authoritative?
According to Manager Ding of Hebi Jintaiyang Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., this land was indeed purchased under the name of a nursing home, but later the company changed the use of part of the land, converting it from public construction land to urban residential land, and paid over 6 million yuan in transfer fees. Currently, the nursing home occupies over 30 mu, while the residential land covers over 70 mu, and the modifications have been approved by relevant departments.
At the city's planning bureau, a responsible official told the reporter that this community was originally intended to build a large-scale nursing home. As for why it wasn't developed in time, he was not yet in his current position then, so he doesn't know the specifics.
The official explained that on January 2008, the developer applied for a change in planning, converting most of the land from public construction land to residential land. On January 30, the planning bureau officially approved the change in land use.
This official stated that regarding villa construction, the state does not have a unified strict definition or standard. According to their understanding of policies and regulations, these houses do not fall under the category of villas. Villas are defined as having three floors or fewer, whereas this community mostly consists of four-story buildings, and their plot ratio complies with the stipulated requirements. Therefore, the planning does not contradict national policies or laws.
Reporter's Investigation: Land Left Idle For Years Makes Developers Profit Enormously
Land left idle for a few years increases significantly in value, and paying a few million yuan in transfer fees makes it "legally developable." The nursing home shrinks drastically and is surrounded by mansions priced in the millions. Is such operation fair?
From the city's land management department, the reporter learned that in 2004, this land was transferred from the Qi County Land and Resources Bureau to the Hebi City Land and Resources Bureau. In April 2005, when the city's land management department issued the certificate of state-owned land use, the nature of the land was still public construction land. On January 30, 2008, the land management department approved the change, converting over 70 mu out of the original 110 mu into residential land. On September 11, 2008, the developer was issued a construction land approval book, with a land usage period of 66 years. The prerequisite was that the enterprise paid over 6.09 million yuan in land transfer compensation.
Initially, over 110 mu of land, now retaining only 30 mu for the nursing home, and over 70 mu for commercial development. A senior insider in the city's real estate development industry calculated thus: initially, assuming a cost of 100,000 yuan per mu, the land cost was 11 million yuan. After adding the supplementary payment, the total land cost was over 17 million yuan. Now, even at the lower estimate of 500,000 yuan per mu, excluding the appreciation space of over 30 mu of public construction land, just the 70 mu of land costs amounts to 35 million yuan, revealing the enormous difference in land profits.
This insider stated that without considering the profits from other property types, just the profit from selling over 80 premium villas could make the developer immensely profitable.