Miyamasuzaka Building / Apartment
- Built in 1953 (58 years old)
- As seen in 2002 horror film “Dark Water”
- Apartments sold for between 600,000 ~ 1,000,000 Yen when brand new
About the building:
Built in 1953, this is Japan’s first high-rise public housing project where apartments were available for sale. Apartments were typically a lot smaller in those days and ranged from 39 ~ 43 sqm with 2 rooms and a kitchen/dining area. The price of an apartment in 1953 was between 600,000 ~ 1,000,000 Yen, or around 25,000 Yen/sqm. In 2011 the average price is now 1,273,000 Yen/sqm (51 times the original price).
The building was considered luxurious for its time, with many of the residents being bureaucrats, banking professionals or university professors. The residential apartments were 2DK-types (2 rooms plus a kitchen/dining space) and were fitted out with bathrooms and kitchen cupboards. As an added extravagance, the building had Elevator Girls who would work everyday from 8am to 6:30pm operating the two elevators. The elevators could still be operated normally outside of these hours.
There was also a post box next to the elevators, so you could drop the letter you wanted to send into the box and it would fall down to the 1st floor where the postman would collect it.
When first built, the 1st floor had 20 retail stores, floors 2~4 had 36 offices, and floors 5 and above had 70 residential apartments. Nowadays, there is a mixture of office and residential apartments on the upper floors.
This building was featured in a Japanese horror film called Dark Water (2002) and the building’s hallway was featured on the movie posters.
Reconstruction Plans:
Due to the aging of the building there are current plans for demolishing and rebuilding. Apartments in this building would appeal to investors, as once the building is rebuilt, an owner may be able to sell their new apartment at a big gain. Land surrounding Shibuya Station is very high in value, so original apartment owners could possibly receive a valuable new apartment in the new building, depending on their land ownership. A nearby block of commercial land was valued at 7,670,000 Yen/sqm in 2010.
The Ginza subway line runs directly behind the building and may partially run underneath the part of the building.
Previous Sale Listings:
- 2F (2 adjoining offices) 83.03sqm 99,750,000 Yen
- 10F (residence floorplan) 39.40sqm 53,000,000 Yen
Location:
2-19-15 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
100 meters to Shibuya Station
Building Details:
Built: December, 1953
Construction: 11 Stories + 1 Basement
Developer: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Construction
Land size: ~1300 sqm
Land ownership: Freehold
No. of units: 124
