Minato-ku relaxes floor area ratios to encourage apartment redevelopment
From June 1, 2015, the Minato City Government in Tokyo introduced allowances to building volume ratios to encourage the re-development of old, non-earthquake resistant apartment buildings.
Apartment buildings that meet certain requirements and receive government approval may be re-built to a larger size than would normally be allowed on that block of land. An allowance of up to 200% may be given if conditions are met. This may bring the maximum possible building volume ratio (yosekiritsu) up to 1,000%, depending on zoning.Read more
Otemachi 2 Chome Project expected to sell for 200 billion Yen
The Japanese government is redeveloping a state-owned site in the Otemachi district near Tokyo Station.
The Urban Renaissance Agency, a semipublic housing company, will build a two office towers which will then be sold to a real estate company or fund once it has been filled with tenants. The sale price is expected to be over 200 billion Yen (1.62 billion USD), which, if achieved, would make it the highest price ever seen for government property.
To date, the most expensive recorded sale of state-owned land was for the former Japan Defense Agency land in Roppongi (now Tokyo Midtown). The land sold to a consortium of real estate developers in 2000 for 180 billion Yen.Read more
Historic hotel in Takarazuka to be demolished
Hankyu Hanshin Holdings plan to demolish the historic Takarazuka Hotel in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture, and will build a new hotel in a separate location nearby.
The 5-storey hotel opened in 1926. It was developed by Ichizo Kobayashi, the founder of Hankyu Railway, the Takarazuka Revue and Toho, and local industrialist Kaemon Hiratsuka. Hankyu acquired the hotel a few years after it opened.Read more
Mori to build Japan’s tallest residential tower in Toranomon
Mori Building have released details for a 56-storey residential tower on the southern side of Toranomon Hills. The Atagoyama District Redevelopmeent (I District) will be 220 meters tall, just 35 meters shorter than the mixed-use Toranomon Hills complex. When complete, it could become the tallest fully-residential building in Japan, exceeding The Kitahama in Osaka and The Parkhouse Nishishinjuku Tower by 11 meters. It may also become the second tallest building in Tokyo that includes a residential component (second only to Toranomon Hills).Read more
Toranomon fast becoming a hotspot of development
The 2020 Summer Olympics and 2027 opening of the new maglev line have helped to spur along some major construction projects in Tokyo, in particular the Toranomon area.
Since the opening of Toranomon Hills in 2014, the Toranomon area is quickly emerging as Tokyo’s newest hub for international business. It is not just an office area, as nearby hotels, hospitals, and serviced apartments are also in the process of being built. There are also plans for a new station along the Hibiya Line that will connect with Toranomon Hills.
Mori Building is the major player in this district, and plans to invest over a trillion Yen in projects in the Toranomon and Roppongi area over the next 10 years.Read more
Details of Akasaka’s 44-storey condominium announced
Details on Park Court Akasaka Hinokicho The Tower (previously the Akasaka 9 Chome Tower Project) have just been released. The 170m tall, 44-storey condominium, which was designed by Nikken and famed architect Kengo Kuma, is currently under construction on the northern side of Tokyo Midtown.
The high-rise will contain 322 apartments, of which just 163 (50%) will be available for sale. The remainder will go to landholders and participants of the development. The two and three-bedroom apartments will range in size from 57.61 ~ 203.96 sqm (620 ~ 2,195 sq ft). Layouts are cleverly designed and do not contain any windowless bedrooms that you may find in cheaper developments. The largest apartment, a 203 sqm penthouse, includes two full bathrooms, while the rest of the apartments have 1 bathroom.
Sales will begin in September October November 2015 . Prices have yet to be announced, but with apartments in other recent high-rises in Akasaka selling for around 2,000,000 Yen/sqm, it is likely that we will see comparative pricing in this new project. There have been rumours that apartments could be priced as high as 3,000,000 Yen/sqm.Read more
Meguro Station high-rise residential development draws huge interest
The large redevelopment on the eastern side of Meguro Station is garnering a large amount of attention with the sales office overwhelmed with inquiries. Tours of the sales showroom are now booked solid for the next two months. The sales office received 18,000 requests for property brochures, three times the number they had anticipated. Many of the inquiries were from prospective buyers in their 30s and 40s. A third of the inquiries were from residents in Shinagawa, Meguro and Minato-ku.
The model room opened in early April, and the first round of sales is scheduled to start in early June. Apartments will be offered for sale in stages, with almost 40% of the apartments being offered in the first round. Interested buyers will be required to submit applications during the sales periods, with lucky buyers selected via a lottery-type system.
The 80 billion Yen project includes two residential towers containing 940 apartments and a 27-storey office tower. Tokyo Tatemono, Daiichi Life Insurance, Taisei Kensetsu and Takenaka Corporation are the four developers.Read more