Shibuya Ward Office demolition to start in November
Demolition of the 51-year old Shibuya Ward Office and Public Hall buildings will start this November. Discussions to redevelop the government offices began in early 2013 after a building inspection found that the ward office building did not meet minimum earthquake-resistant standards and was at risk of collapse in an earthquake with a shindo level of upper-6.
The Shibuya government office buildings include the 6-storey ward office and the 4-storey Shibuya Public Hall (Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall). They were completed in 1964, and the Hall hosted the weight-lifting events for the ’64 Summer Olympics.
To help cover the costs of rebuilding, part of the government-owned land will be leased to Mitsui Fudosan Residential under a 70-year fixed term. Mitsui will construct a 143m tall, 39-storey residential tower. At the end of the lease, residents will vacate their apartments, the building will be demolished and the land will be returned to the local government.Read more
Kenzo Tange building in Yamanashi to be retrofitted
The 49-year old Yamanashi Cultural Hall building in Kofu City is undergoing earthquake retrofitting which is expected to extend the building’s lifespan for another 50 years.
The 8-storey building was designed by modernist architect Kenzo Tange and competed in 1966. It is said to be one of Tange’s exemplary works and was selected by DOCOMOMO Japan as one of the top 100 modernist buildings in the country. The structure was designed to allow for future extensions, and the original floor area of 18,000 sqm was later expanded to 22,000 sqm.Read more
Otemachi PAL Building demolition to begin in August
As part of the Otemachi 1-2 District Redevelopment, Kajima Corporation will begin demolition of the Otemachi PAL Building next month. The PAL Building, along with the Otemachi 1 Chome Mitsui Building and the Mitsui Bussan Building are all being demolished to make way for two new office towers which are due for completion between 2019 ~ 2021. The owners of the buildings, Mitsui Bussan and Mitsui Fudosan, are expected to contribute around 170 billion Yen (1.37 billion USD) towards the redevelopment.
The Otemachi PAL Building is a 9-storey building with a total floor area of 27,923 sqm. It was built by Takenaka Corporation and completed in 1961. Mitsui Bussan and Mitsui Fudosan acquired the building from consumer credit company Promise in 2011 for 72 billion Yen (approx. 900 million USD at the time). After the sale, Promise leased the office space until they moved into the SMBC Consumer Finance headquarters in Ginza in late 2013.Read more
Political power spot in Chiyoda to be rebuilt
The building that once housed the head office of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is going to be demolished and rebuilt starting next year. In recent years the 58-year old building has become increasingly worn out. The decision to rebuild was made after an inspection in 2014 found that the structure did not meet current earthquake-resistant standards.
A new building design will be selected in September and demolition will begin from April 2016. The new building is expected to be 7-storeys and should be completed sometime in 2018.Read more
Historic Daimaru Shinsaibashi Store Facade to be Preserved
Last year, J. Front Retailing announced plans to redevelop the historic 82-year old Daimaru Shinsaibashi Department Store in Osaka. The ageing building was becoming increasingly cost and difficult to maintain, and was short on floor space.
Original redevelopment plans involved razing the building. After J. Front’s announcement, local architects and historians lobbied the company to preserve as much of the intricately-designed building as possible. Although redevelopment is going ahead next year, J. Front are now considering preserving the historic facade.Read more
Chiyoda ofice building converted to serviced apartments and office suites
NTT Urban Development have converted a 22-year old office building in Chiyoda-ku into a mixed-use serviced apartment, share office and serviced office space.
‘Hive Tokyo’ (formerly Pacific Square Kudan Minami) is targeted towards both Japanese and foreign clients. The 10-storey building is located across the street from the Yasukuni Shrine and a 6 minute walk from Ichigaya Station. The building is scheduled to open in August 2015.Read more
Otemachi 2 Chome Project expected to sell for 200 billion Yen
The Japanese government is redeveloping a state-owned site in the Otemachi district near Tokyo Station.
The Urban Renaissance Agency, a semipublic housing company, will build a two office towers which will then be sold to a real estate company or fund once it has been filled with tenants. The sale price is expected to be over 200 billion Yen (1.62 billion USD), which, if achieved, would make it the highest price ever seen for government property.
To date, the most expensive recorded sale of state-owned land was for the former Japan Defense Agency land in Roppongi (now Tokyo Midtown). The land sold to a consortium of real estate developers in 2000 for 180 billion Yen.Read more