Shiba Park Hotel to demolish north building
Shiba Park Hotel will be demolishing the main north building. Demolition work is being carried out by Ando Corporation and is expected to be completed by the end of June 2012.
The north building is 8 stories and has a total floorspace of 2891 sqm. The hotel was opened in 1949 and has 391 rooms.
Source: The Kentsu Shimbun, February 20, 2012.
Bad news for Tokyo slumlords
As concerns grow over the number of aging vacant houses that pose a risk to the surrounding neighborhood, local wards and cities have begun to introduce regulations that will pressure owners into either repairing or demolishing their derelict properties.
-- Assistance of up to 1 million Yen --
Tokyo's Adachi-ku is densely crowded with wooden-frame houses and small workshops. Much of the area is considered to have a high fire hazard. Adachi-ku was the first ward in Tokyo to enact rules that obligate owners of dilapidated houses to either repair or demolish them. In the event of demolition, the ward will provide up to 1 million Yen (12,000 USD) in aid. Already, two buildings have been demolished under this new rule.Read more
Chateau Mita to be demolished
The Chateau Mita apartment building in Mita, Minato-ku, is going to be demolished in March. The reason for demolition and reconstruction is because the 48 year old building was deteriorating. Reconstruction negotiations with the residents began in 2004.
During the 1960s and 1970s, several "Chateau" apartments were built in Tokyo. They were all developed by Kurokawa Kensetsu. Many of the "Chateau" series of vintage apartments are valued higher than other lesser apartments of the same age.Read more
An update on building damage from the Tohoku earthquake
Just after the March 11 Tohoku earthquake it was announced that zero buildings had collapsed, which everyone naturally assumed was a testament to the strict building codes in Japan.
However, it has now been acknowledged that 100 apartment buildings in Sendai city have been completely destroyed.
3480 homes completely destroyed in Kanto area following Tohoku disaster
An investigation by the Tokyo Shimbun has found that as many as 3480 homes in the Kanto area were completely destroyed in the Tohoku disaster. A further 2815 homes were partially destroyed and will need to be demolished. In some areas, the number of partially destroyed homes equalled the number that were completely destroyed.
Homeowners may be eligible to receive a maximum of 3 million Yen as compensation, but high construction costs mean that very few homes are being rebuilt. It has been almost 11 months since the disaster and the full extent of the damage is only now coming to the surface.Read more
Brick warehouse in Gunma at risk of demolition
A 90 year old red-brick warehouse built during the Taisho period in Ora Town, Gunma, is at risk of being demolished in the near future.
The building was once used in the production of "nakanogasuri" - a style of cloth-weaving dyed with wooden patterns, and is now owned by the JA Oura Tatebayashi Agricultural Cooperative (JA). The warehouse suffered structural damage during the Tohoku earthquake and the owner has expressed intent to demolish the structure.Read more
Hotel Suigo in Ibaraki to be demolished due to earthquake damage
The Suigo hotel in Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki, will be demolished after it sustained damage in the March 11 Tohoku earthquake. Suigo is a local government operated hotel which offers low-cost accommodation. These type of lodgings are called "kokumin shukusha".Read more