Redevelopment for west side of Shinbashi Station
Redevelopment plans are underway for the area on the western side of Shinbashi Station in Tokyo. On November 5, landowners decided in favour of a project to be led by Nomura Real Estate and NTT Urban Development with completion expected in 2023.
The proposed 3 hectare site adjoins Shinbashi Station and includes the SL Square and Sakurada Park. One of the buildings to be redeveloped is the New Shimbashi Building, which contains approximately 300 restaurants and stores. Despite the ‘New’ name, the 11-storey building was built in 1971. Read more
Shibuya City Office redevelopment under review
The redevelopment of the Shibuya City Office and Shibuya Public Hall (C.C. Lemon Hall) is under review due to a potential cost blowout. A shortage of skilled construction labour and rising material costs have caused the estimated construction costs to increase by around 30 ~ 50%.Read more
October rental data - Tokyo Kantei
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium apartment in greater Tokyo was 2,602 Yen/sqm in October, up 1.0% from the previous month and up 2.8% from last year. This is the first time in four months that the rent has exceeded 2,600 Yen/sqm. The average apartment size was 60.20 sqm and the average building age was 19.2 years.
The average monthly rent in Tokyo’s 23-ku was 3,233 Yen/sqm, up 0.8% from the previous month and up 4.9% from last year. The average apartment size was 56.74 sqm and the average building age was 17.4 years. Starting with Tokyo’s central 6 wards, almost all areas in the 23 wards have been seeing either stable or strong growth in rent.
Yokohama City is seeing a continued downwards trend. In Kobe City, the average building age increased from 19.9 years to 21.3 years, which caused a corresponding drop in average rent.Read more
No bidders for Nara Dreamland
The foreclosed Nara Dreamland amusement park in Nara City failed to attract a single bid when it was put up for public auction on November 11. The 297,000 sqm site was listed for sale with a minimum price of 730 million Yen (6.3 million USD). Although ten inquiries were received, no bids were made.
Too expensive?
With a minimum price of around 2,400 Yen per square meter, this might seem like an exceptional bargain when compared to the surrounding area, but the park is dotted with a number of overgrown and unsafe structures and rides which would require several hundred million Yen to remove.
The land is also subject to a number of strict building regulations that make redevelopment a difficult task. The land falls in an Urbanisation Control Area and current uses only permit welfare, sports, museum, zoo or school facilities. Approval from the prefectural governor is required before construction.
Housing, commercial, retail or hot spring development is not allowed. It is also within two kilometres of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Todai-ji temple and Kofuku-ji temple), which means the land is designated as a scenic and conservation zone under the Act for the Preservation of Ancient Capitals. As a result, building heights are limited to 10 meters, while building-to-land ratios are limited to 30%. Nara’s mayor said the city has no intention to provide any allowances on the construction regulations.Read more