Resort development activity picking up in Hokkaido
Resort development activity is starting to accelerate in Hokkaido as the region begins to see a rebound in foreign tourist numbers.
Construction is scheduled to start on a large-scale resort in the Uenae area in Tomakomai City this June. The 1000 hectare site will include a hotel, horse-riding and trekking facilities. Aman Resorts Group's GHM (Singapore) are tentatively scheduled to be the hotel operator. The development is being designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando and will be completed in 2014. They are targeting wealthy foreign tourists. The total investment is estimated at 13 billion Yen (158 million USD).
*Update: Aman's 'Chedi' brand of hotels is scheduled to operate the hotel. "The Chedi Tomakomai" is now scheduled to open in 2017.
*Update 2: Mori Trust acquired the site in 2016 and will start construction on a resort in 2017 with completion expected in 2026.Read more
Waterras Tower Residence Sold Out
Apartments in the brand new, luxury high-rise condominium "Waterras Tower Residence" have now been completely sold out, just weeks before the building is scheduled to be completed.
The 41-storey mixed-use building has a total of 333 apartments of which 253 were made available for sale. Prices ranged from 55.8 to 300 million Yen with the average apartment priced at 1,225,000 Yen/sqm. Apartments range in size from 45.14 ~ 146.93 sqm (485 ~ 1581 sqft). Approximately 30% of the apartments were priced over 100 million Yen.Read more
Singapore investor makes headlines after buying forestry in Gunma
An investor from Singapore has been the subject of an article in the Yomiuri newspaper after purchasing 44 hectares of forestry in Gunma Prefecture. The land, which is near the source of the Agatsuma River in Tsumagoi Village, was purchased by the investor in September 2011.
An employee from the Tokyo-based real estate agency that brokered the sale said the purchase formed part of the buyer's overall investment plan, but there was no indication that the buyer was after a water source.Read more
Compensation awarded to occupants of building with insufficient earthquake resistance
The Yokohama District Court has ordered that an architect office and building inspection company pay compensation of 1.4082 billion Yen (17.6 million USD) to owners of the 37 apartments in St. Regis Tsurumi after it was established that the building has insufficient earthquake resistance.
The building was inspected by Nippon ERI, who noticed that the building's strength did not meet standards and requested that the architect office correct the mistake. The mistake was corrected on paperwork in handwriting and ERI failed to notice the forged revision.Read more
Hulic purchases Ginza building from Recruit
Hulic announced on January 27 that they have acquired the Recruit Ginza 7 Building from Recruit. The retail and commercial building is located at the Ginza Nishi 6 Chome crossing. The building has 9 stories and 5 basement floors and was completed in 1962. The land is 1500 sqm and the total building area is 19,790 sqm.Read more