The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has approved plans for the re-development of the Sakura Gaoka neighborhood near Shibuya station, which will include the building of a 37-story and 32-story skyscraper.
More specifically, the area approved for re-development is Shibuya ward’s Sakura Gaoka-cho, Dogenzaka 1-chome and Shibuya 3-chome, encompassing about 2.6 hectares (about 26,000 square meters or about 280,000square feet). The project is divided into three neighborhoods: “A Neighborhood,” which will include a 37-story 180-meter tall skyscraper, with four sub-floors; “B Neighborhood,” which will include a 32-story 150-meter tall skyscraper with two sub-floors; and “C Neighborhood” which will include a four-story building, about 16.5 meters tall.
Shibuya currently does not have many tall buildings, with the Cerulean Tower currently the tallest, at 184 meters.
The total project cost is estimated to be about 163 billion yen (about 1.36 billion usd, at today’s exchange rate).
Construction will start in December 2017 and is slated for completion in December 2020.
Shibuya in 2020
The purpose of the re-development is to make the area near Shibuya station more functional and organized, with the goal of promoting the growth of businesses and cultural exchange.
As we reported in a previous post, “What will Shibuya look like in 2020?” the developer’s vision for Shibuya is to make it into a futuristic city, a mixture of New York’s Times Square and Silicon Valley. Central to this vision is to turn Shibuya into a business district that will attract international companies and business people.
Pedestrian-Friendly Decks
Working with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Tokyu Corporation, which owns many of the developments in Shibuya, plans to make Shibuya into a much more pedestrian-friendly neighborhood by creating a pedestrian network anchored by open spaces and decks.
The plan is to eliminate the current vertical and horizontal divisions in the neighborhood caused by the various roads and railway lines crisscrossing the area, and to improve the flow of pedestrian traffic within the station and between the station and surrounding area.
Attracting International Businesses and Business People
Facilities to attract foreign businesses and workers are integrated into the skyscrapers that will anchor the planned neighborhoods. In addition to office and commercial space, there will be space to house international medical facilities, high-end apartments, serviced apartments and childcare facilities specifically aimed at ex-pats. Areas have also been set aside for facilities to help promote start-up businesses.
In addition, areas in the buildings have been set aside to serve as emergency evacuation centers and as warehouse space for emergency supplies; and a power co-generation system is included in the blueprints.
You may also be interested in: What will Shibuya look like in 2020? and 47-Story Observation Facilities to be Built Atop Shibuya Station
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