Historic Yokohama building to be converted into shared office

Yokohama Kanto Local Finance Bureau

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

by Zoe Ward

Construction to start on Shibuya Miyashitacho Project

Miyashitacho Project 1

Miyashitacho Realty, a corporation funded by Tokyu Corporation, Tokyu Construction, Taisei Corporation and Sapporo Real Estate, will officially begin construction on the Shibuya Miyashitacho Project on March 30.

The 5,000 sqm site is owned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and forms part of their ‘Urban Regeneration Step Up Project’. It was originally the site of the the Miyashitacho Apartments. There were originally three apartment buildings, with demolition of the last building fronting Meiji Dori starting recently.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Construction starts on Shin-Hibiya Project

Shin Hibiya Project 1

Mitsui Fudosan started construction on the Shin-Hibiya Project on March 23. The 192m tall, 35-storey office tower is expected to be completed by the end of January 2018. London-based architectural firm Hopkins Architects are in charge of the master plan.

The project will help to enhance the area's image as centre for international business and the arts. The retail component will include Toho Cinemas, and will be the largest cinema complex in central Tokyo. This area has a long history as a theatre district. Toho, the producer of the Godzilla franchise, was founded nearby.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo office vacancy rates reach 6 year low

According to Miki Shoji’s Office Report, the vacancy rate in Tokyo’s five central business districts (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) was 5.31% in February, down 0.05 points from January and down 1.70 points from last year. This is the lowest level seen since January 2009 and is the 20th month in a row to see an improvement in vacancy rates.

The vacancy rate in brand new office buildings was 29.31%, up 14.46 points from the previous month and up 9.66 points from last year. A large-scale office building was completed in February, which added to the supply for the month. Read more

by Zoe Ward

600 billion Yen project announced for Yaesu

Tokyo Station Yaesu Development
54-storey tower (left) and 45-storey tower (right).

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

by Zoe Ward

Land prices continue to rise - MLIT LOOK Report

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) Chika LOOK Report for the fourth quarter of 2014 (October 1 ~  January 1), land prices increased in 83% of the surveyed locations across Japan. For the second quarter in a row, none of the locations saw a decline in land prices.

The Chika LOOK Report is a quarterly survey of land price movements of 150 commercial and residential locations across Japan. In the last quarter, 125 locations saw an increase, up from 124 locations in October 1, 2014. Two of those locations saw land prices rise 3 ~ 6% (the Toranomon area in Tokyo and the Ohori area in Fukuoka), while 25 locations saw no change in land prices.

In the greater Tokyo area, 90.8% of locations saw an increase in land prices, while 79.5% of locations in the greater Osaka area saw an increase.

Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo office vacancy rate falls to 6 year low

According to MIki Shoji’s Office Report, the office vacancy rate in Tokyo’s five central business districts (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) was 5.36% in January 2015, down 0.11 points from the previous month and down 1.82 points from last year.

The vacancy rate in brand new office buildings was 14.85%, up 1.45 points from the previous month and up 0.43 points from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward