The novel coronavirus infection has also entered the COVID-19 phase, and the previous landscape has returned to the city. The morning and evening commute rush has once again become normal, and queuing in front of restaurants at noon has become commonplace in office districts. Telework, which was exciting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is no longer heard much, and people are returning to the city and back to their offices. I feel that the economy, which had been stagnant for 3 years, has begun to move again.
As I walked around the city, I noticed that the building was being rebuilt. Construction of the Tokyo Torch Torch Tower has also begun on the Yaesu exit side of Tokyo Station, and the Nippon Building and Asahi Seimei Otemachi Building are currently undergoing demolition work. The Tokiwabashi Tower was completed in the year before last, but when completed four years later, the Torch Tower will be the tallest in Japan with a ground clearance of 390 meters. I'm excited to think that in a few years the tallest building in Japan will appear right in front of me.
Compared to Otemachi and Marunouchi, advanced use was delayed in the Yaesu/Nihonbashi area, but since then, a number of large-scale redevelopments have begun. In addition to Tokyo Midtown Yaesu, which has already been completed, skyscrapers with a total floor area of over 100,000 square meters will be built one after another over the next 10 years due to redevelopment of the Tokyo Torch, Yaesu 1-chome North District, Yaesu 2-chome Middle District, Nihonbashi 1-chome Middle District, Nihonbashi 1-chome East District, Nihonbashi Muromachi 1-chome District, etc. as described above. Under such circumstances, according to the Reiwa 5 land price announcement price announced on March 22, the standard land “central 5-43” along Sotobori Street in Yaesu was 22.4 million yen per square meter, up +0.9% from the previous year. Similarly, the standard site “Chuo 5-35” along Eitai-dori Street is 20.8 million yen per square meter, an increase of +1.0% compared to the previous year. “Chiyoda 5-2” and “Chiyoda 5-30” in the Otemachi district where redevelopment has been completed are both flat at ± 0% compared to the previous year, so are future development expectations on the Yaesu side reflected to some extent?
However, in terms of the economy and international situation, there is still no clue to a cease-fire in the Ukraine war, and the future course of the economic environment is still uncertain, such as the collapse of Silicon Valley Banks, etc. due to falling bond prices due to interest rate hikes to control inflation in America, the management crisis of Credit Suisse in Europe, and the direction of the future interest rate policy management stance due to the change of Bank of Japan governor in Japan. I can only hope that the economy will continue smoothly so that the occupancy rate of the many newly built skyscrapers is at a high level and can be welcomed smoothly.
Reprinted from “Weekly Building Management” by Building Management Institute Co., Ltd. (with permission)
