Long-awaited plans for the Toranomon-Azabudai District in central Tokyo have finally been released. The development, which will be carried out by Mori Building, will include a 65-story mixed-use building that will contain mostly office space, as well as apartments and an international school. Construction is scheduled to start in 2018 with a completion date in 2022.

The 330 meter tall building will be Japan’s tallest building when complete in 2022 and just 2 meters shorter than Tokyo Tower, although it is expected to be overtaken by a 390 meter tall office tower planned for the Otemachi district near Tokyo Station.

The building will have a total floor area of 449,000 square meters (approx. 4.8 million sq ft). In addition to the office space, there will be 80 apartments on the 56th ~ 65th floors of the building. The smallest apartment will be a generously sized two bedroom apartment with a floor area of 125 square meters (1,345 sq ft), while the largest apartment will have a floor area of over 1,000 square meters (10,760 sq ft). This apartment could possibly be the largest apartment ever offered in Japan.

Based on current market conditions, if this apartment was to be offered for sale it could fetch as much as 4 ~ 5 billion Yen (35 ~ 44 million USD) or even higher. Apartments developed by Mori Building tend to be some of the most desirable and valuable properties in Tokyo. Apartments in the nearby Toranomon Hills Residence (built in 2014) can sell for around 3.5 million Yen per square meter (approx. 2,850 USD/sq ft), while apartments in Mori’s Roppongi Hills Residence (built in 2003) can sell for around 2.5 ~ 3 million Yen per square meter (approx. 2,000 ~ 2,400 USD/ sq ft). Apartments in these buildings are highly prized, tightly held, and seldom available for purchase.

The 65-story building is to be built on the site of the former Azabu Post Office, which was built in 1930.

There are also plans for a 270m tall, 63-story office building and a 53-story apartment building on the same 8.1 hectare development site. Seven buildings are planned in total, containing a total of 1,300 apartments (including serviced apartments).

Buildings:

  • [A] 330m, 65-story office, residential, retail & international school (449,000 sqm)
  • [B-1] 270m, 63-story office, residential, serviced apartments and retail (170,500 sqm)
  • [B-2] 240m, 53-story residential and retail (155,500 sqm)
  • [C-2] 40m, 8-story residential, office and retail (28,400 sqm)
  • [C-3] 30m, 3-story retail (1,800 sqm)
  • [C-1] 20m, 3-story retail (11,100 sqm)
  • [C-4] 15m, 3-story temple (3,300 sqm)

Town planning approval is expected in 2017 or 2018.

The Toranomon-Azabudai District Redevelopment area includes Toranomon 5 Chome, Azabudai 1 Chome and Roppongi 3 Chome. Redevelopment discussions began as early as 1988 and Mori has been steadily buying up the various land parcels over the years.

After the redevelopment the number of individual land parcels will go from 300 to just 7, while the share of roads will increase from the current level of 10% to 30%. There are a total of 120 landowners involved in the project. If individual apartment owners are included, the total number of landowners is 330. Of the 220 houses and buildings within the redevelopment zone, 60% were wooden and 90% were considered to be old or aged structures (eg. they had reached 2/3rds of their lifespan).

The old neighbourhood

Sources:
The Nikkei Shimbun, January 11, 2017.
The Daily Engineering & Construction News, January 12, 2017.
Cabinet Office Homepage.

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