This new development has been all over the local press today. Here is just one of the many articles about it.
The information shared above is correct. This is the new render, and the height has been decreased to 380 meters.
It will be an observation tower, rather than an actual skyscraper.
The tower project was announced today by Busan City, and its main feature will be the "aerial arboretum", located between 220m and 300m. The cost of the project will be nearly USD 450 million.
The tower will be divided in 3 sections. The lower one will have 12 floors and rise to 71 meters, and include a theme park for kids, retail space, and an innovation support center, as well as an aquarium underground.
The thin mid section will have a rock climbing facility, a playground and a skydeck.
Finally, the upper section, which will start at 220m, will of course feature the arboretum, as well as a book café, a gallery, an observation desk, and a restaurant, and some more.
Now for the question nobody asked: what do I think about this? Well, I think overall it's good news. On one side, the tower we expected is gone, and replaced by a significantly shorter tower, which will probably not qualify for a skyscraper.
On the other hand, this project has been delayed forever, and on hold for almost 10 years (it's been underway since 2000!). There had been significant issues regarding the land use, and it would have been difficult to change the plans of the building to have something which makes sense financially for Lotte, but which can be approved by the city has well.
The great news about this new project is that it is supposed to start construction this October, according to today's announcement, for a completion in 2023. In addition, the final renders are quite interesting. There are many skyscrapers over 400 meters in the world, and the previous tower would have been just "one of many" supertall skyscrapers. With this new tower design, the chance of it being unique and a true landmark are probably actually higher.
I don't really know how it will turn out, but this will certainly be interesting.
10년째 공사 중단된 380m 부산롯데타워… '공중수목원'으로 부활
More renders:
롯데그룹, 초고층 랜드마크 `부산 롯데타워` 짓는다