Shibuya Parco to be rebuilt

Shibuya Parco Redevelopment 2

The Shibuya Parco Store is going to be redeveloped as part of the Udagawacho 15 District Redevelopment Project.

The new building will be 29 storeys and 110 meters tall. It will contain retail space the first 8 floors, with rental office space on floors 9 and above. Construction will start in March 2017 with completion scheduled for late 2019.Read more


Apartment price to income ratios continue to worsen

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average price of a brand new apartment in Japan in 2014 was 7.17 times the average annual income (up 0.58 points from 2013), while a second-hand apartment (10 years old) was 4.92 times the average annual income (up 0.34 points). Incomes were down 1.4% nationwide, while new apartment prices were up 7.2% and secondhand apartment prices were up 6.1%.

The most affordable prefecture in Japan to buy a new apartment is Tochigi Prefecture, with a price-to-income ratio of 4.89 (down 0.53 points from 2013), and the most affordable place to buy a second-hand apartment is Kagawa Prefecture, with a ratio of 3.27 (up 0.33 points from 2013).

The most unaffordable prefecture in Japan for a new apartment is Kyoto, with a ratio of 10.98 (up 1.2 points). The second most unaffordable location for a new apartment was Ishikawa Prefecture, with a ratio of 10.97. The most unaffordable place for second-hand apartments is the Tokyo metropolitan area with a ratio of 7.61 (up 0.41 points). Read more


Shibuya Ward Office demolition to start in November

Shibuya Ward Office Redevelopment 1

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


Developer abandons plans to build apartments on former Kyoto hotel site

Kyoto Kokusai HotelHankyu Realty has given up on plans to build apartments on the site of the former Kyoto Kokusai Hotel after facing strong opposition from Kyoto City officials who want to see a new hotel built instead.

The development site is located in a prime position across the street from the east entrance to Nijo Castle in the centre of Kyoto.Read more


Tokyo apartment sales in July 2015

Tokyo apartments sales July

The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of July 2015:Read more


Kenzo Tange building in Yamanashi to be retrofitted

Yamanashi Cultural Hall Kenzo Tange 3

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

Otemachi PAL Building

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