Midosuji Avenue OsakaFrom the next fiscal year onwards, Osaka City will allow the construction of rental apartment buildings alongside Midosuji Avenue.

Currently, only commercial and retail buildings are allowed along the tree-lined street.

Rental buildings will be allowed along a 1km stretch of the street that runs between Chuo Odori Avenue and Nagahori Dori Avenue.

Apartments can only be contained in the top third of the building. For example, an 18-storey building can have apartments from the 13th floor and above.

The 50m wide avenue was completed in 1937. It was always intended to be a commercial and high-end retail area. Although residential use was not expressly prohibited, there was a gentlemen’s agreement between the government and landholders that it would not become a residential area.

Recently, building height limits were raised from 50 ~ 60 meters to 200 meters and city officials hope that this area will become Japan’s version of Manhattan.

Midosuji Avenue in the 1930s

Source: The Yomiuri Shimbun, October 8, 2013.

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