Redevelopment planned for Shibuya city office
Moves are underway to rebuild the Shibuya City Office buildings after it was discovered that they would be at risk of falling over in an earthquake that produced a shindo level of upper-6 (read about the Japanese seismic intensity scale here).
At a press conference held on February 12, Shibuya ward mayor, Toshitake Kuwahara, announced that they hope to decide on a budget for the project during the 2014 financial year. The buildings are currently below the maximum allowable building size for the site, so the local council hopes that the availability of additional space will help to reduce their own redevelopment costs.Read more
Customised rental properties provide answer to vacancy rate problem
An increasing number of landlords are offering to renovate their properties in accordance with their tenants' wishes in order to attract and retain long-term occupants.
Typical renovations can amount to two year's rent, but in an effort to retain the tenants in the long term, the landlord of one building spent approximately three year's rent on renovating an apartment to the client's specifications. The rent on this particular apartment is 160,000 Yen a month, approximately 10,000 Yen higher than it was prior to the renovation.Read more
Proud Minamiazabu Sold Out
All 88 apartments in Nomura's 'Proud Minamiazabu' condominium have sold prior to completion.
The 7-storey building is adjacent to the French Embassy in the exclusive Minamiazabu 4 Chome residential neighbourhood. This is a leasehold building, which means apartment owners do not own a share of the land. The land is leased from the Embassy under a 60 year fixed-term. At the end of the term, the land and building must be returned to the Embassy.Read more
Ark Hills South Tower
Mori Building announced on January 4 that their new office building between Izumi Garden Tower and Ark Hills will be called 'Ark Hills South Tower'. The 20 storey building is scheduled for completion in August 2013, and will boast the largest rooftop garden in central Tokyo.
Each floor plate is approximately 1900 sqm (20,444 sqft) and ceiling heights are 2.9 meters (higher than the standard of 2.8m).
It has already been awarded the a Platinum ranking under the DBJ Green Building Certification, which is a certification system created by the Development Bank of Japan. Read more
Villa in Suginami-ku saved from demolition
Plans are underway to convert the private residence of a former Prime Minister, Prince Fumimaro Konoe, into a public garden. The local Suginami City is looking into purchasing the 6,000 sqm grounds and converting them into a public garden with a planned opening in 2017.
Named 'Tekigaiso', the house was built in a traditional Japanese style in 1927. The total floor area of the house is approximately 500 sqm (5,380 sqft). Prince Konoe purchased the property in 1937. In October 1941, he discussed war efforts in the house's drawing room with Hideki Tojo, general of the Imperial Japanese Army and Prime Minister from late 1941 to 1944. Konoe later committed suicide in his library in 1945, and Tojo was sentenced to death for Japanese war crimes in 1948.Read more
Voting rules may change to speed up earthquake-retrofitting
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) is considering bringing in relief measures that will reduce the number of votes needed by apartment owners when deciding on earthquake-retrofitting.
Currently, a majority vote is needed for small repairs, but if the building association wishes to carry out large-scale repairs which may include earthquake-retrofitting, at least 75% of apartment owners must agree to the repairs. Proposed changes by the MLIT would change this to a majority vote. Read more