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
SMBC restores 89-yr old office building in Osaka
On May 19, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) completed the restoration of the 89-year old building that houses their Osaka head office.
The Sumitomo Building was built in 1926 as the headquarters of Sumitomo Bank. The 6-storey building was constructed by Obayashi Corporation and had a total floor area of 36,000 sqm. It was designed by architects Yutaka Hidaka, Eikichi Hasebe and Kenzo Takekoshi of Sumitomo’s construction division. Construction took five years. During construction, the greater Tokyo area was struck by the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake. As a cautionary measure, the building’s proposed floor count was reduced by one storey. A spanish-style private courtyard was built on the top storey.Read more
Toranomon fast becoming a hotspot of development
The 2020 Summer Olympics and 2027 opening of the new maglev line have helped to spur along some major construction projects in Tokyo, in particular the Toranomon area.
Since the opening of Toranomon Hills in 2014, the Toranomon area is quickly emerging as Tokyo’s newest hub for international business. It is not just an office area, as nearby hotels, hospitals, and serviced apartments are also in the process of being built. There are also plans for a new station along the Hibiya Line that will connect with Toranomon Hills.
Mori Building is the major player in this district, and plans to invest over a trillion Yen in projects in the Toranomon and Roppongi area over the next 10 years.Read more
Historic Yokohama building to be converted into shared office
The historic former Kanto Local Finance Bureau building in downtown Yokohama will re-open in 2016 as a restaurant and shared office space after undergoing restoration and renovations.
The heritage listed property was built in 1928 and was originally the Yokohama ranch office of Nihon Menka - a raw cotton importer that is now Sojitz Corporation. It was temporarily confiscated by the US during the occupation in 1952, before being sold to the national government in 1954. From 1960 it was used as the Yokohama branch of the Ministry of Finance. Yokohama City acquired the 4-storey concrete building in 2003.
In August 2014, Yokohama City started an appeal to find suitable uses for the building. The Yokohama DeNA BayStars baseball team were selected out of nine applicants to manage and operate the building.Read more