Mysterious foreign co. buys Chongryon HQ
The Tokyo District Court announced that the winning bidder of the foreclosed Chongryon headquarters / North Korean de-facto embassy building was a foreign-owned company called Avar LLC.
The court is now assessing the financial viability of Avar's 5.01 billion Yen bid and will make an official decision on the sale on October 22.
*Update: The decision deadline was extended for unknown reasons. On October 21, a citizen's group filed a petition with the district court alleging that Avar is a fictitious company.Read more
Office vacancy rates in September - Miki Shoji
According to Miki Shoji's office report, the vacancy rate in Tokyo's 5 central business districts (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) was 7.90% in September, down 0.26 points from last month and down 1 point from last year. This is the third month in a row where rates have fallen. It is the first time since November 2009 that vacancy rates have been in the 7% range.
The vacancy rate in new buildings was 18.12%, up 0.19 points from last month but down 11.50 points from September 2012.Read more
Old Andersen bakery in Hiroshima to be demolished
The 88-year old Andersen bakery in Hiroshima is going to be demolished and rebuilt by Andersen Group as repairs and upgrades to the existing building prove too costly.
The renaissance style building was designed by architect Uheji Nagano and completed in 1925. It was originally the Hiroshima branch of the Teikoku Bank (which later merged to become part of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation). Mr. Nagano designed a number of buildings for the Bank of Japan, including their head office which still stands in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.Read more
Akasaka 1 Chome Redevelopment to begin in January
Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate have received approval from the governor of Tokyo to convert the ownership rights as part of their Akasaka 1 Chome Redevelopment.
The 16,000 sqm site is adjacent to Tameikesanno Station and across the street from the US Embassy in Akasaka. The project was approved in August 2012.
Demolition of the existing buildings is expected to begin in January 2014 with construction starting in August. Completion is expected by April 2017.Read more
Office vacancy rates in August - Miki Shoji
According to Miki Shoji, the office vacancy rate in Tokyo's 5 central business districts (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya was 8.16% in August, down 0.13 points from the previous month. Vacancy rates decreased in four of the five districts.
The vacancy rate in new buildings was 17.93%, up 5.21 points from the previous month. Read more
Tokyu Hands Shibuya store sold for 10 billion Yen
Hulic have purchased the Nishi Shibuya Tokyu Building (aka the Tokyu Hands Shibuya Store) from a Tokyu-related company for 10 billion Yen (101 million USD). Hulic plan to redevelop the site when Tokyu's lease expires in 10 years.
The current building is 10 storeys with a total floor area of 13,000 sqm. It is on a 1,800 sqm block of land in the middle of Shibuya's retail precinct. It was originally owned by Tokyu Fudosan Group, but sold to a related fund in 2006 for 14 billion Yen.Read more
TEPCO sells Ginza building for 23.4 billion Yen
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) have sold a building and land in Ginza 3 Chome to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper company for 23.455 billion Yen (240 million USD).Read more