600 billion Yen project announced for Yaesu
Mitsui Fudosan and Tokyo Tatemono have plans for a 600 billion Yen (5 billion USD) redevelopment on the eastern side of Tokyo Station. Two buildings up to 250 meters tall will be built in the Yaesu 1 and 2 Chome districts. The developers are considering including residential, retail, education, cultural and medical facilities with English-speaking staff in the complex. The Yaesu area currently has a resident population of just 110 people, so residential supply has been very limited.
The redevelopment site is located in a National Strategic Special Zone. These zones have been created to encourage the creation of full-service business districts that are internationally competitive. Developers may receive allowances to provide for extra floor-area ratios and foreign companies may receive additional benefits to locate in these areas.Read more
Japan’s largest hotel to be built in Yokohama
APA Group will be developing a 37-storey hotel on a waterfront site in downtown Yokohama. With 2,400 guest rooms and a total floor area of 58,000 sqm, this hotel will have the highest room count in a single building in Japan.Read more
Bottega Veneta joins fight to save Hotel Okura
Fashion and architecture go hand in hand, and pieces designed by some of the great designers can remain timeless for generations. Tomas Maier, the creative director of Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta, is hoping to spread awareness of some of Japan’s modernist architecture that is at risk of being demolished and lost forever. Of particular interest in Maier's campaign is the Hotel Okura Tokyo, designed by Yoshio Taniguchi and completed in 1962, which is scheduled to close and be demolished later this year.Read more
Abandoned ski resort in Niigata sold for 1.3 billion Yen
The overgrown and abandoned former Arai Mountain & Spa Resort in Niigata Prefecture has been purchased by Tokyo-based A. C Holdings for 1.3 billion Yen. The company, which is involved in construction and golf course development, plans to re-open the ski resort and target wealthy tourists from China and across Asia.
The Arai Resort was developed by Hideo Morita, eldest son of Akio Morita( the co-founder of Sony) and opened in 1993. Over 50 billion Yen was invested in creating a world-class health resort. In its first year, however, the resort ran into management difficulties and Morita’s relatives provided an additional investment of 23 billion Yen to prop up the company. Eventually the over-investment, poor management and low tourist numbers led to the closure of the resort in 2006.Read more
Mori Trust announces plans for high-rise office and hotel in Toranomon
On October 23, Mori Trust announced plans for a 180m mixed-use building for the former Toranomon Pastoral building site in Toranomon 4 Chome.
The 36-storey building will contain a hotel, serviced apartments, office and retail space. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2015 with completion by 2018. The new building will be approximately 500 meters from the proposed new station along the Hibiya Line.Read more
Mori Trust buys Meguro Gajoen despite ongoing lawsuit
In August, it was announced that Mori Trust had acquired Meguro Gajoen from Loan Star Funds for approximately 130 billion Yen. Singapore’s GIC was previously in talks to purchase the property for 134 billion Yen but backed out due to concerns over a legal dispute brought up by the original landholders.
Meguro Gajoen is a wedding hall, hotel and office building complex located 250 meters west of Meguro Station in Tokyo. Mori Trust acquired a large majority of the land (37,000 sqm) as well as the following five buildings with a total floor area of 150,000 sqm:Read more
Japan's hot spring towns could be hit hard by new building safety regulations
Since November 2013, large-scale buildings, such as hotels and hospitals, built to the old earthquake-resistant building codes (called ‘kyu-taishin’) are obligated to carry out building inspections to determine their level of earthquake-resistance.
Inspections must be carried out by the end of 2015, after which the results will be made public.
Owners and operators of hot-spring resorts and inns are worried that these requirements could spell the end for their businesses. Towns in these onsen areas that rely on the tourist trade are also worried that this could have a direct impact on their local economy.Read more