Akasaka Twin Tower demolition to begin next month

Akasaka Twin Tower 1After several years of delays, Mori Trust will finally begin their redevelopment of the Akasaka Twin Tower buildings near Tameikesanno Station in Tokyo.

Taisei Corporation will begin demolition work of the 31-year old buildings in mid-May.

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Developers struggling with rising construction costs

Apartment developers are facing an impending crisis as construction costs continue to rise.

The average cost per apartment has risen almost 20% to 23 million Yen in the past year. Average construction costs per square meter are now around 300,000 Yen.

To make things worse, land prices are now starting to increase. Read more


The Tower Yokosuka Chuo 60% sold

The Tower Yokosuka Chuo 2

All 150 apartments offered in the first round of sales in The Tower Yokosuka Chuo condominium sold out in early March. An average of 1.3 applications were made on each apartment, with the most popular apartment receiving 4 applications.Read more


Fault discovered in Kawasaki apartment building

Park Tower Shinkawasaki 3In what looks to be a disturbing trend, another apartment building under construction has been found to have a serious defect. It was announced on March 31 that a high-rise condominium in Kawasaki City would be partially demolished and rebuilt after cracks were found on concrete pillars on the fourth floor.

Construction had reached the 7th floor when it was discovered that the extra load of the floors was putting too much strain on the 4th floor structural columns causing them to crack and split.  Read more


Hiroshima to have tallest apartment building in region

City Tower Hiroshima 1

Sumitomo Realty & Development announced the launch of a condominium in Hiroshima that will be the region's tallest apartment building when complete. City Tower Hiroshima will be 192 meters tall and contain 514 two, three and four-bedroom apartments.

Residential apartments will be on floors 13 to 52, with a lobby on level 12. The majority will be 3-bedroom apartments with an internal area of 75 sqm (807 sqft). Read more


The Parkhouse Grand Minamiaoyama Takagicho to be demolished and rebuilt

The Parkhouse Grand Minami Aoyama

Mitsubishi Jisho Residence announced that they will be demolishing and rebuilding The Parkhouse Grand Minamiaoyama Takagicho* apartment building after serious construction faults were discovered prior to completion. The construction company, Kajima Corporation, is expected to bear most of the reconstruction costs.

Apartments in the 7-storey condominium in Minato-ku were initially priced from 85 ~ 350 million Yen with an average price of 1,400,000 Yen per square meter. 83 of the 86 apartments were already under contract by December when online message boards began to report rumours of some structural issues with the building. Read more


First apartment building for Osaka's Midosuji Boulevard

Midosuji OsakaAfter a recent relaxation of zoning rules, Osaka's Midosuji Boulevard will soon see its first apartment building. 

Sekiwa Real Estate Kansai - a subsidiary of Sekisui House - is planning have the mixed-use building completed by 2016. The building height is expected to be approximately 100m, with luxury rental apartments on the higher floors. Read more