Shibuya City Office redevelopment to include new apartments
The redevelopment of the ageing Shibuya City Offices will include a 37-storey apartment building with 414 apartments.
Part of the development site will be leased to a developer on a 70-year term. The revenue from the leasehold is expected to cover the costs of the city office redevelopment. Five developers are bidding for the project, and the final decision will be made in the next few months.Read more
Former Taiyo Dept Store in Kumamoto to be demolished
The Daiei Kumamoto Shimotori Store (formerly the Taiyo Department Store) in Kumamoto City will be demolished next year. The building was the scene of a devastating fire in 1973 that killed 104 people and injured 120.
The 60 year old building opened in 1952 as the Taiyo Department Store. In its early days it was considered the best store in the city.
The store was closed for the next two years following the fire as the building underwent repairs. When it finally re-opened, 120,000 people visited on the opening day. However, the store never fully recovered from the incident and went bankrupt a year later.
Osaka demolishes derelict home
Osaka City began the forced demolition of a house in Joto-ku after the owner ignored official requests to repair or remove the dilapidated property.
The 50+ year old 2-storey wooden home is 500 meters east of Kyobashi Station and less than 2 km from Osaka Castle. The roof had collapsed and the house was starting to lean and was at risk of falling over the road and train tracks. The house was declared a hazardous or dangerous structure under the Building Standards Act and the owner was warned eight years ago to take appropriate measures to remedy the building.Read more
Kamakura Museum of Modern Art at risk of demolition
The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama is facing possible demolition as the prefecture has decided not to renew the land lease with the landowner (the nearby Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu shrine). The prefecture's difficult financial situation has meant that they cannot continue to operate the museum and it is scheduled to close at the end of March 2016.Read more
Yaesu Fujiya Hotel to be redeveloped
The Yaesu Fujiya Hotel by Tokyo Station will close at the end of March 2014 as the Kokusai Kogyo Group plan to sell the building and land to Sumitomo Realty & Development in April.
Sumitomo are expected to demolish the hotel and redevelop the site into an office building.
Kobe's Jonas Residence to be torn down after sale falls through
The final bid to save the former Jonas Residence in Shioya, Kobe, from demolition has failed after the possible buyer backed out of discussions.
In late September a renewable energy-related company began negotiations with the seller - developer Anabuki Kosan - to purchase the historic house and land. Unfortunately the two parties could not come to an agreement on the sale price and the buyer walked away from the deal on October 10.Read more
Old Andersen bakery in Hiroshima to be demolished
The 88-year old Andersen bakery in Hiroshima is going to be demolished and rebuilt by Andersen Group as repairs and upgrades to the existing building prove too costly.
The renaissance style building was designed by architect Uheji Nagano and completed in 1925. It was originally the Hiroshima branch of the Teikoku Bank (which later merged to become part of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation). Mr. Nagano designed a number of buildings for the Bank of Japan, including their head office which still stands in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.Read more