53-storey hotel and residential complex for Nishiazabu
Redevelopment discussions are moving forward for a prime site located directly across the street from Roppongi Hills. Although details are still under discussion, the project could be a mixed-use tower containing a 100-room hotel and 370 rental and condominium-type apartments.
According to a 2015 Investor Relations publication by Nomura Real Estate, the development may include a 53-storey tower with construction scheduled to start in 2018 and be completed by as early as 2022. It is possible that government allowances could result in a taller building than previously proposed.Read more
116-year old building in Kobe to be razed by developer
One of Kobe’s earliest western-style buildings has been sold to a developer and will be demolished to make way for a high-rise apartment building. The property, which was sold along with an adjoining block of land, had a price tag of several billion Yen.
Sports stadium and mall likely to replace old Tsukiji fish market
According to insiders at a major Japanese real estate company, a sports stadium and shopping mall are being considered as a replacement for the former Tsukiji fish market site in downtown Tokyo.
The famous 80-year old fish market is scheduled to move to its new location on Shin-Toyosu Island in Tokyo Bay in early November 2016, leaving a 23 hectare site prime for redevelopment. The outer market, which has retail and restaurants catering to the general public, will remain in its current location, while the wholesale market will move to a much larger site in Shin-Toyosu.Read more
New retail project for Omotesando/Harajuku intersection
The Jingumae 6 Chome District Redevelopment Committee is moving forward with plans to redevelop a prime 3,000 sqm retail site fronting both Omotesando and Meiji Dori Avenues.
The redevelopment committee was established in August 2015 and includes Tokyu Land (who acquired Coop Olympia Annex in 2013), Colombin Co. (a biscuit and cake company that have their headquarters next-door to Coop Olympic Annex), part of Tokyo Metro’s subway facilities (the Chiyoda and Fukutoshin Lines are both located nearby), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (owner of the Jingumae Onden Resident Hall).Read more
Shiba Park Building returns to the market
Shiba Park Building, a landmark office building in central Tokyo, is being offered for sale again, with insiders suggesting it could sell for more than 160 billion Yen (1.3 billion USD). *Update: Several months later, the owners decided to take advantage of low borrowing rates to refinance rather than sell the building, with the net rental income providing a more attractive return than disposal of the asset.
The 14-storey building has a total floor area of 103,000 sqm (1.1 million sq.ft), of which 83,000 sqm is leasable space. It was built in 1982 by Shuwa Corporation, a real estate developer that invested heavily in US properties during Japan’s bubble economy in the late 1980s. Shuwa was also the developer of numerous ‘Shuwa Residence’ vintage apartment buildings built across Tokyo and Saitama in the 1960s and 1970s.Read more
Foreign investment in Japan reaches 19-year high but still low by international standards
Investment by foreign-based funds and corporations in Japanese real estate has reached the highest level since 1996. Between January and September 2015, foreign funds acquired 706.5 billion Yen (5.91 billion USD) of property, an increase of 41% from the same period in 2014.
Meanwhile, some last minute transactions at the end of 2014 put the annual acquisition volume for 2014 at 981.8 billion Yen.
Some of the funds have been seeking capital gains, while others, including government-related funds, have been seeking high yields with a long-term view for holding their assets. In September, average office rents in central Tokyo increased for the 21st month in a row. The average spread between the office yield in central Tokyo and the long-term interest rate is around 3%, versus 1% in Singapore and Hong Kong.Read more
Japan’s first high-rise condominium to be redeveloped
After several years of discussions, redevelopment plans have finally been announced for the 62-year old Miyamasuzaka Building / Miyamasuzaka Apaato in Shibuya. Demolition of the current building is expected to start in February 2016, with the new building to be completed by 2020. The building’s owners association voted in favour of redevelopment in March 2012.
This was Japan’s first high-rise condominium. It was developed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Construction and completed in 1953. The building has 11 storeys above ground and one basement floor.
The typical apartment size in this building ranged from 39 ~ 43 sqm (420 ~ 463 sq.ft). Although the rooms may be small by today’s standards, the building was considered to be the epitome of luxury living at the time. When new, prices ranged from 600,000 ~ 1,000,000 yen, and almost all of the buyers were high-income earners such as bureaucrats, bankers or university professors.Read more