Faulty apartment building in Yokohama to be demolished next year
Last month, two years after the building was found to be tilting, the owners association of a condominium complex in Yokohama voted in favour of redevelopment.
In October 2015 it was announced that several of the foundation piles in one of the buildings were not sunk deep enough to reach bedrock and a 2 cm difference in height had developed between the buildings. Residents were assured by the developer that the building posed no immediate risk and still met earthquake-resistant standards. However, further inspections found that the building would not withstand an earthquake producing a seismic intensity of 5+ or higher. In August 2016, Yokohama City issued the developer with a correction order under the Building Standards Act.
The 12-storey condominium was built in 2007 and contains over 700 apartments.
Demolition of all four blocks in the complex, including the one that has already started to show signs of tilting, will start as early as April 2017. It will be replaced by new buildings which should be ready for residents to move into from late 2020. The developer will bear the 40 billion Yen (390 million USD) cost of redevelopment.
Under the Condominium Unit Ownership Act, 80% of owners must vote in favour in order to redevelop a condominium. In this particular case, 99% of owners were in favour of rebuilding. Those that were not in favour will be forced to sell their apartments to the owners association, as outlined under the Act.
It is likely that the redevelopment committee will select a different developer to carry out the reconstruction, rather than the original developer. Apartment owners who plan to move into the new building will be provided with temporary housing in the meantime. In addition to shouldering the cost of redevelopment and temporary accommodation, Mitsui is providing each household with 3 million Yen in compensation.
Sources:
The Nikkei Shimbun, September 19, 2016.
The Tokyo Shimbun, September 20, 2016.
Restauranteur planning big expansion into luxury hotel business
Hiramatsu, a famous French and Italian restauranteur, announced bold plans for their newly created hotel brand.
In July, they opened The Hiramatsu Hotels & Resorts Kashikojima in Mie Prefecture. The small-luxury resort has just 8 guest suites and is targeted towards wealthy individuals with a net worth of over 100 million Yen. Room rates, which include meals prepared by renowned chefs, range from 65,000 ~ 80,000 Yen/night (640 ~ 790 USD) per person. The hotel was fully booked for the months of July and August, and reservations for 2017 are already starting to fill up. Currently the restaurant in the resort is only open to hotel guests, although they are considering opening it up to non-guest bookings.Read more
Tokyo Apartment Sales in September 2016
The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of September 2016:Read more
Kyoto City trying to clear up ownership of its two biggest streets
Some of the land under Kyoto’s two biggest streets, Gojo Dori and Horikawa Dori, is said to still be privately owned by various individuals. According to the city, approximately 166 land titles covering a total area of 10,000 square meters underneath both Gojo and Horikawa streets are still in private names, representing about 1% of the total street size.
Buyers line up for abandoned amusement park in Miyagi
The owner of an abandoned amusement park and ‘haunted spot’ in Miyagi Prefecture is reportedly looking for a buyer.
Kejonuma Leisure Land opened in 1979 and welcomed as many as 200,000 visitors a year during its peak. After the crash of the bubble economy in the early 1990s, many of Japan’s amusement parks suffered from declining visitor numbers. The park closed in 2001 and the buildings have fallen into serious disrepair.Read more
Tokyo apartment asking prices in August 2016
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq.ft) second-hand apartment in greater Tokyo in August 2016 was 35,210,000 Yen, up 0.8% from the previous month and up 13.0% from last year. This is the 8th month in a row to record an increase from the previous month. The average building age was 22.4 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the average asking price was 48,090,000 Yen, up 0.5% from the previous month and up 10.5% from last year. The average building age was 22.0 years.
In Tokyo’s 23 wards, the average asking price was 52,790,000 Yen, showing no change from the previous month but up 8.5% from last year. The average building age was 21.9 years.
In Tokyo’s central six wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya), the average asking price was 72,030,000 Yen, up 0.3% from the previous month and up 5.5% from last year. This is the 3rd month in a row to record an increase from the previous month.