SMBC restores 89-yr old office building in Osaka
On May 19, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) completed the restoration of the 89-year old building that houses their Osaka head office.
The Sumitomo Building was built in 1926 as the headquarters of Sumitomo Bank. The 6-storey building was constructed by Obayashi Corporation and had a total floor area of 36,000 sqm. It was designed by architects Yutaka Hidaka, Eikichi Hasebe and Kenzo Takekoshi of Sumitomo’s construction division. Construction took five years. During construction, the greater Tokyo area was struck by the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake. As a cautionary measure, the building’s proposed floor count was reduced by one storey. A spanish-style private courtyard was built on the top storey.Read more
Residential yields in Minato-ku - June 2015
According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in June was 4.7%, showing no change from the previous month and down 0.6 points from last year. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 6.7%, up 0.1 points from the previous month but down 0.5 points from last year.
The average asking price of a second-hand apartment in Minato-ku was 857,700 Yen/sqm as of June 1, down 1.4% from the previous month but up 8.2% from last year. The average asking price for land was 1,212,727 Yen/sqm, up 0.1% from the previous month and up 2.7% from last year.Read more
Historic hotel in Takarazuka to be demolished
Hankyu Hanshin Holdings plan to demolish the historic Takarazuka Hotel in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture, and will build a new hotel in a separate location nearby.
The 5-storey hotel opened in 1926. It was developed by Ichizo Kobayashi, the founder of Hankyu Railway, the Takarazuka Revue and Toho, and local industrialist Kaemon Hiratsuka. Hankyu acquired the hotel a few years after it opened.Read more
Mori to build Japan’s tallest residential tower in Toranomon
Mori Building have released details for a 56-storey residential tower on the southern side of Toranomon Hills. The Atagoyama District Redevelopmeent (I District) will be 220 meters tall, just 35 meters shorter than the mixed-use Toranomon Hills complex. When complete, it could become the tallest fully-residential building in Japan, exceeding The Kitahama in Osaka and The Parkhouse Nishishinjuku Tower by 11 meters. It may also become the second tallest building in Tokyo that includes a residential component (second only to Toranomon Hills).Read more