Future City Scientists to Visit Osceola as part of LG Electronics proposed $500M planned development
Updated: Jun 23, 2019
Two members of the Future City Open Innovation Center (FOIC), a division of South Korea’s prestigious Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), will be coming to Osceola County from July 8-12 to do research needed for a proposed “LG Smart Town Center” in NeoCity that could cost as much as $500 million.
FOIC will be the second partner of LG Electronics to visit Osceola County since Osceola County Board Chairwoman Cheryl Grieb and Hogeon Hwang, Executive VP, Global Business Unit of LG Electronics signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Seoul on April 4 of this year.
Earlier this month, three senior architects from Haeahn, South Korea’s largest architectural firm, joined five LG executives headed by Yoon Won Suh - Executive VP, LG Technology Center of America in Santa Clara, California - as they met with county officials. Executive Director of Architectural Design, Kyuhwan Jhin, headed the Haeahn team.
LG Electronics is acting as the lead member of this consortium of Korean entities that is already working on the Digital Master Plan for NeoCity, the 482-acre technology district located across US 192 from Osceola Heritage Park. NeoCity will be among the first cities in world to be designed as a Smart City from the ground up.
The consortium is also working on the development of 25-30 acres of the NeoCity core innovation zone that has the working title of “LG Smart Town Center”. This development will showcase LG Electronics Smart Sustainable City technology and serve as a test bed for LG’s latest innovations. Projects similar in size and type of LG Smart Town Center typically have had budgets up to $500 Million.
“We our greatly honored to welcome such wonderful partners as LG, Haeahn and POSTECH” said Mark Miller, Chairman of NeoCity Links (NCL). “LG, who is a world leader in Smart City technology and applications, has assembled the perfect team to collaborate with NeoCity.”
Last summer Osceola County hired NCL as official representatives for business development with South Korea. Osceola County’s Seoul office opened last January.
“Commission Chairwoman Cheryl Grieb, Vice Chairwoman Viviana Janer and Commissioners Branden Arrington, Fred Hawkins, Jr. and Peggy Choudhry, with County Manager Don Fisher and Strategic Initiatives Director Jeff Jones, have been unwaveringly committed to NeoCity and BRIDG,” Miller added. “They have been a completely united team and have done a wonderful job of working with LG and the members of their consortium, making them know they are appreciated and welcome in Osceola County, and making clear that Osceola will be an excellent partner for them for years to come.”
LG Electronics’ major components of “Smart Sustainable City” development include:
· Smart Home
· Smart Building
· Smart Energy
· Smart Mobility
· Smart Environment
· Smart Social Service
· Smart Info
· Digitalization to Governance
· Digital Architecture
· Innovation Labs
For both of these projects, LGE will use technology and development knowledge gained from their recently completed $3.74 billion, 250-acre LG Science Park in Magok, South Korea. This park consists of a 20-building complex that serves as the research headquarters for the LG Group and houses more than 25,000 employees.
The consortium plans to be back in Osceola County to discuss a contract with the county within the next 90 days.
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