Tokyo skyline reaches for new heights with $5 bln Mori project

Mitsubishi Estate

22/08/2019 03:00

By Chris Gallagher
    TOKYO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Mori Building Co is spending more
than $5 billion on a massive real estate project in Tokyo,
creating a city within a city with everything from offices, a
British school and vegetable gardens to the tallest building in
Japan.
    The Japanese developer  MRBLD.UL  known for its "Hills"
brand of properties said on Thursday it had started construction
this month on the Toranomon-Azabudai redevelopment project, near
the Roppongi district, with costs estimated around 580 billion
yen ($5.5 billion). Completion is slated for March 2023.
    The project, yet to be officially named, will include three
high-rise towers for about 20,000 office workers and 3,500
residents. The 64-floor main tower will reach 330 metres (1,080
feet).
    That will surpass the 300 metre Abeno Harukas in Osaka,
which opened in 2014, to become the country's tallest building -
at least until around 2027 when Mitsubishi Estate  8802.T 
completes a 390 metre high-rise at its Tokiwabashi project near
Tokyo station.
    Earthquake-prone Japan has lagged other countries in
building height but its skylines are creeping higher as advanced
seismic designs minimise swaying caused by quakes as well as
wind. The 634 metre Tokyo Sky Tree, the world's tallest
broadcast tower, opened in 2012.
    This upward climb is line with the strategy of Mori
Building, whose late co-founder Minoru Mori had long advocated
his vision of compact, "vertical garden cities" aimed at
improving quality of life in the sprawling metropolis.
    Mori Building said the 8.1 hectare (20 acres) complex would
be centred around a 6,000 square metre park. Total floor area
will be 860,400 square metres, surpassing Mori's Roppongi Hills
to make it the developer's biggest-ever project by floor space.
    The complex will host the British School in Tokyo with
approximately 700 students, to attract global companies and
overseas workers, Mori said.
    It will also hold a yet-to-be announced luxury hotel brand
debuting in Japan, as well as a large-scale food market, museums
and galleries and a medical facility to promote wellness.
    The project highlights developers' bullishness on Tokyo
beyond the 2020 Olympics. Average land prices in the
metropolitan area are at their highest since the 2008 financial
crisis, data from the Japan Real Estate Institute show, as the
economy has recovered and construction and infrastructure
projects gather pace ahead of Tokyo 2020.
($1 = 106.4700 yen)

 (Reporting by Chris Gallagher; editing by Richard Pullin)
 ((chris.gallagher@thomsonreuters.com; 81-3-6441-1842;))