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
New 44-storey apartment building for Akasaka
The Akasaka 9 Chome North District Redevelopment is scheduled to begin construction in October 2014 with completion in March 2017. The project will include a 44-storey 170m tall residential building with 330 apartments.
The developer is Mitsui Fudosan Residential, so if this becomes a condominium (rather than a rental-only building) then it could possibly be branded as one of their 'Park Court' series of apartments. Read more
Tokyo City Hall facing 76 billion Yen repair bill
The 22-year old Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (aka Tokyo City Hall or 'Tocho') in Shinjuku is facing a large-scale maintenance and repair bill estimated to cost 76.2 billion Yen (approximately 783 million USD).
Designed by architect Kenzo Tange, the government building was completed in 1991 at a cost of 156.9 billion Yen. The 243m tall building was once the tallest in Japan. 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
Chongryon HQ's second auction to be held in October
The Chongryon headquarters and North Korean de-facto embassy building and land in Chiyoda-ku will be put up for public auction in October after the bidder from the first auction was unable to go through with the purchase.
Bidding is open from the October 3 to 10 and bids will be opened on October 17. The minimum bid is 2.134 billion Yen (21.7 million USD) and a deposit of 533.6 million Yen (5.4 million USD) is required to bid. Read more