Apartment Reconstruction Still Lagging Despite Support System
The following is a translation of an article that appeared in the Nikkei Shimbun on October 30th, 2010.
The large scale repairs and rebuilding of aging apartments in Tokyo is becoming more and more of a concern. Apartments built during the construction boom from the 1970s are now nearing 40 years old. If apartments are not properly maintained they create a fire and crime hazard (possibly because they have less security features than modern buildings). At the national and city level there is a support system for rebuilding, but actual cases where the system has been used are few in number.Read more
JVC sells Victor Studio land in Jingumae
JVC Kenwood Holdings sold the land underneath their Victor Studio building in Jingumae 2 Chome to a real estate company. JVC will lease the land from the new owner and continue to operate from the building.
Victor Studio was opened in 1969 and is used by many recording artists including Southern All Stars and Smap.
The land was sold for approximately 3 billion JPY (~USD 37 million as of October, 2010). The land will be leased by JVC and they will also retain rights to the building. The company has been liquidating their assets, and also sold a building and land in Yokohama.
The google map location for the land in Jingumae is here.
Source: Asahi Shimbun, October 27, 2010
MUFJ Bank donates villa to Kamakura City
Located in Kamakurayama, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank's holiday villa was donated to Kamakura City. The city opened the villa up to the public for one day on October 25th. In 2009, MUFJ had initially planned to sell the villa to the city, but financial difficulties caused the sale to fall through and it was later donated.
The main building is built from reinforced concrete with 2 floors and 1 basement. There are also two wooden tea houses.Read more
Asakusa Tower to go ahead despite opposition from Sensoji Temple
Asakusa's Sensoji Temple lost their court case against the development of high-rise apartment building under construction less than 400 meters away from the temple. The temple argued that the development went against city plans to limit residential buildings to 5 stories. No reason was given for the ruling against their case.Read more
Inside a $16 million Tokyo Penthouse
Hirakawacho Mori Tower Residence
23rd floor 5-Bedroom Penthouse
424.98 sqm (4,570 sqft)
1,300,000,000 JPY (~USD 16 million)
Last week I had the chance to view the largest of the four penthouse apartments in Mori's newest building in Hirakawacho. The interior has marble and hardwood flooring and wood panelling. There are four separate entrances to the unit (main, kitchen, maid and emergency use). The formal living room has a gas fireplace and balcony. The formal dining room overlooks the Imperial Palace and Marunouchi.