Demolition underway on Omotesando public housing complex
Demolition of the old Aoyama Kitamachi Apaato housing complex in Omotesando is underway. Asbestos removal from four buildings is currently being carried out. Asbestos sheeting and spray-on insulation was used in some of the buildings’ rooftop waterproofing, plumbing insulation, and chimneys.
The city-owned public housing estate will soon be replaced with high-rise residential, aged care facilities and retail space.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has chosen six developers to partake in the project, including Tokyo Tatemono, Mitsui Fudosan, Kajima Corporation and Maeda Corporation.Read more
Potential redevelopment for area near Sengaku-ji Temple
An area just east of Sengaku-ji Temple in Takanawa, Tokyo, has entered the very early stages of discussions for a possible future redevelopment. The area covers 11,000 square meters and currently includes a number of low-rise houses, office and apartment buildings. It also includes Sengaku-ji’s Middle Gate and temple road.
Sumitomo Realty is taking part in planning and preparation. A town planning decision is eyed for 2018 and construction could start by 2020.Read more
65-story building with 1,000 sqm penthouse apartment planned for Toranomon
Long-awaited plans for the Toranomon-Azabudai District in central Tokyo have finally been released. The development, which will be carried out by Mori Building, will include a 65-story mixed-use building that will contain mostly office space, as well as apartments and an international school. Construction is scheduled to start in 2018 with a completion date in 2022.
The 330 meter tall building will be Japan’s tallest building when complete in 2022 and just 2 meters shorter than Tokyo Tower, although it is expected to be overtaken by a 390 meter tall office tower planned for the Otemachi district near Tokyo Station.
The building will have a total floor area of 449,000 square meters (approx. 4.8 million sq ft). In addition to the office space, there will be 80 apartments on the 56th ~ 65th floors of the building. The smallest apartment will be a generously sized two bedroom apartment with a floor area of 125 square meters (1,345 sq ft), while the largest apartment will have a floor area of over 1,000 square meters (10,760 sq ft). This apartment could possibly be the largest apartment ever offered in Japan.Read more
Two 235m towers for Shibaura
Nomura Real Estate is redeveloping one of its office towers in Shibaura, Tokyo. The 40,000 square meter site is located just south of Hamamatsucho Station on the Yamanote Line and near Tokyo’s waterfront.
The Shibaura 1 Chome Redevelopment Project will include two 235m tall buildings with a total floor area of 580,000 sqm (approx. 6.24 million sq.ft). The South Tower will be 46-stories and contain office, hotel, and retail space, with completion due for 2023. The North Tower will be 47-stories and contain office, 350 apartments, and retail space, with completion due for 2029~2030.
Voting ratios relaxed to encourage speedier demolition of earthquake-damaged buildings in Kumamoto
On September 30, the Japanese government voted in favour of enacting an exemption to the apartment redevelopment law in order to help speed up redevelopment of buildings damaged by the Kumamoto earthquake in April. Under the special exemption, the voting ratio for demolishing an apartment building and selling the land has been reduced to 80% for damaged buildings in Kumamoto. This is the second time the exemption has been applied. It was first applied to three buildings damaged by the 2011 Tohoku disaster in Sendai city.
Ordinarily, 100% of apartment owners must agree before a building can be demolished and the land sold. However, if the building has been seriously damaged in a major earthquake, the ratio can be reduced to 80% if certain conditions are met. Nevertheless, obtaining 80% agreement is still a difficult task.
According to Kumamoto City, 19 apartments buildings were considered to be completely destroyed, 21 suffered major damage, and 52 suffered partial damage in April.Read more
Developer to raze 84-year old building in Ginza
Ginza is about to lose another of its pre-war buildings as an 84-year old office building is under demolition by a developer.
Demolition started in early September with the removal of asbestos. The building will be completely demolished by early November.Read more
Faulty apartment building in Yokohama to be demolished next year
Last month, two years after the building was found to be tilting, the owners association of a condominium complex in Yokohama voted in favour of redevelopment.
In October 2015 it was announced that several of the foundation piles in one of the buildings were not sunk deep enough to reach bedrock and a 2 cm difference in height had developed between the buildings. Residents were assured by the developer that the building posed no immediate risk and still met earthquake-resistant standards. However, further inspections found that the building would not withstand an earthquake producing a seismic intensity of 5+ or higher. In August 2016, Yokohama City issued the developer with a correction order under the Building Standards Act.
The 12-storey condominium was built in 2007 and contains over 700 apartments.
Demolition of all four blocks in the complex, including the one that has already started to show signs of tilting, will start as early as April 2017. It will be replaced by new buildings which should be ready for residents to move into from late 2020. The developer will bear the 40 billion Yen (390 million USD) cost of redevelopment.
Under the Condominium Unit Ownership Act, 80% of owners must vote in favour in order to redevelop a condominium. In this particular case, 99% of owners were in favour of rebuilding. Those that were not in favour will be forced to sell their apartments to the owners association, as outlined under the Act.
It is likely that the redevelopment committee will select a different developer to carry out the reconstruction, rather than the original developer. Apartment owners who plan to move into the new building will be provided with temporary housing in the meantime. In addition to shouldering the cost of redevelopment and temporary accommodation, Mitsui is providing each household with 3 million Yen in compensation.
Sources:
The Nikkei Shimbun, September 19, 2016.
The Tokyo Shimbun, September 20, 2016.