First resort condominium to be developed in Kinugawa, Nikko, in 20 years

Kinugawa River Side Residence 1

The Kinugawa River Side Residence will be the first condominium to be built in Nikko's Kinugawa onsen resort area in almost 20 years.

It hasn't been a smooth journey for this particular development. The original developer - Zephyr - had completed construction up to the 3rd floor before filing for bankruptcy in July 2008. The bare concrete structure sat empty for the next five years until Yokohama-based developer Daiwa Jisho Group purchased the building and land and resumed construction in May 2013. Read more


New apartment sales in September surge before consumption tax increase deadline

The Parkhouse Grand Chidorigafuchi 1
The Parkhouse Grand Chidorigafuchi - now sold out.

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, a total of 5,968 new apartments were released for sale in greater Tokyo in September, up 77.3% from last year and up 44% from the previous month.

Of those, 4,986 apartments were sold, making the contract rate 83.5% in greater Tokyo. This is an increase of 14.2 points from last year and 2.0 points  from August.

The number of new apartments offered in high-rise buildings over 20 storeys was 1,949, up 810.7% from last year. The contract rate was 89.9%, up 27.3 points from last year.

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Yaesu Fujiya Hotel to be redeveloped

Yaesu Fujiya Hotel TokyoThe 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.

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Old Andersen bakery in Hiroshima to be demolished

Andersen Hiroshima 1The 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


New 44-storey apartment building for Akasaka

Akasaka 9 Chome North District Redevelopment 2
The original design, which has since been changed.

The Akasaka 9 Chome North District Redevelopment is scheduled to begin construction in October 2014 with completion in March 2017. The project will include a 44-storey 170m tall residential building with 330 apartments.

The developer is Mitsui Fudosan Residential, so if this becomes a condominium (rather than a rental-only building) then it could possibly be branded as one of their 'Park Court' series of apartments. Read more


Akasaka 1 Chome Redevelopment to begin in January

Akasaka 1 Chome Redevelopment 1Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate have received approval from the governor of Tokyo to convert the ownership rights as part of their Akasaka 1 Chome Redevelopment.

The 16,000 sqm site is adjacent to Tameikesanno Station and across the street from the US Embassy in Akasaka. The project was approved in August 2012.

Demolition of the existing buildings is expected to begin in January 2014 with construction starting in August. Completion is expected by April 2017.Read more


482 apartments sold in Tomihisa Cross, Shinjuku

Although the building won't be ready to move into for another two years, all 482 apartments released in the first round of sales in Tomihisa Cross Comfort Tower sold out instantly during the initial sales period in mid-September.

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