Ginza Redevelopment Battle

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Height of fashion has its limits
Merchants in Tokyo's Ginza district are fighting major department stores' plans for upward mobility--in the form of high-rises that locals say would destroy the area's traditional landscape...Department store operator Matsuzakaya...plans to rebuild its building as a large-scale complex complete with commercial facilities, hotel and offices, incorporating itself with the neighboring Sumitomo Mitsui...The operator of the Kabuki-za theater in Higashi-Ginza is also considering the prospects of tearing down the old building and erecting a high-rise in its place. Now 55 years old, the building is virtually falling apart. Also, to better protect their audience members, the building must be retrofitted to withstand earthquakes...Mitsukoshi also has drawn up plans to rebuild both its main building and annex into one store, so as to greatly increase floor space...Akira Endo, director of the federation of local merchant associations, is steadfastly against the emerging trend. "If we were to permit even one high-rise to be built there, they would begin to appear one after another. We can't bend the rules on the height limits--especially along Chuo-dori"...more...

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Chuo Ward to nix Ginza high-rise plan

Chuo Ward, Tokyo, is likely to reject department store Ginza Matsuzakaya's request for permission to build a high-rise in Ginza, thereby siding with local merchants and residents hoping to preserve the shopping district's cityscape, sources said Wednesday. In addition to nixing the planned 190-meter-tall building, which is prohibited under the "Ginza Rule," the ward government plans to revise the rule by splitting the affected area in two, one of which will ban, without exception, buildings taller than 56 meters, the sources said. The Ginza Rule, a local ordinance, went into effect in 1998 in hopes of preserving the famed district's appearance by limiting the height of its buildings. Currently, building height is capped at about 10 stories, and are only allowed to be built taller with the special ward approval that Matsuzakaya had sought. Chuo Ward will unveil its draft of the new rule later this month, clamping down on height restrictions for the areas west of Showa-dori avenue. The new rule will likely be enacted by the end of the year, the sources added.

To the east of Showa-dori avenue, the government will allow buildings to be built higher than the 56-meter limit if they are to be used to preserve traditional culture. This area includes the Kabuki-za theater, which has also applied for the special permission. Residents and merchants in the area have been less vocal against skyscraper projects than their westside counterparts. The ward government ruled that the Matsuzakaya project, which would be located on the stricter westside of Showa-dori avenue, would be unacceptable to surrounding merchants and businesses. In response, the department store--which was hoping to finish the development project in time to celebrate its 2010 centennial--will likely lodge a protest with the ward.

Ginza Mitsukoshi department store is also planning to expand its premises, but the ward government says it will most likely approve the project as it meets the 56-meter-height limit. By approving Mitsukoshi's expansion plan, however, the ward government will have to seek support from shop owners and others in the neighborhood as the construction will close a section of public road. The Chuo Ward government also plans to establish a rule for the size of billboards, which do not currently fall under regulations to protect the Ginza skyline, it said. The ward government currently plans to limit the height of billboards to 10 meters and will ask a panel of Ginza locals to further discuss an adequate size for the billboards.

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Matsuzakaya forced to rethink Ginza store

Department store chain operator Matsuzakaya Co. is to substantially revise plans to rebuild its central Ginza store in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, downsizing the design for its new building from about 190 meters high, to 56 meters or lower, the operator has said. The change in plans was a response to a draft proposal by the ward government to strictly enforce the "Ginza rule," which limits the height of buildings to a maximum of 56 meters in order to preserve the Ginza skyline...If the plans are altered to create a building 56 meters high or less, Matsuzakaya will be forced to make extensive changes from a large-scale commercial complex that was initially supposed to include a department store, offices, hotels and private housing, to a more modest one of a store and some office space. Sources say the company expects major construction delays as a result of the changes. Such a large-scale revision will also mean Matsuzakaya has to rethink--and significantly lower--projected profits that were based on rental income from the offices, hotels and private homes originally planned...more...

[Captain Japan]

Matsuzakaya needs help. It really looks bad now compared to the refurbished Matsuya. Even Mitsukoshi looks pretty dated with those silly metal towers on top.

I went to the depachika of all three last week. Mitsukoshi and Matsuya were packed. Hardly anyone was in Matsuzakaya.

[Mulboyne]

If you want to catch kabuki in the Ginza Kabuki-za, you'd better start making plans now. Shochiku has confirmed that the theatre will be closing in April of 2010 for a complete remodelling. It will re-open in the middle of 2013. There is expected to be strong demand for tickets for performances over its final months. Following its closures, kabuki will still be on show in nearby Shimbashi as well as the theatres in Osaka and Kyoto but those venues won't be able to pick up all the slack so kabuki fans will be rushing to get their fix before the lengthy lay-off.

The building was designated a cultural heritage site in 2002 and Shochiku claims that long consideration was given to preserving the building. However, they have decided that it isn't possible to upgrade it to meet more demanding earthquake proofing requirements or to install "barrier free" access. Nevertheless, there are still calls to preserve the old structure, not least from the Architectural Institute of Japan who submitted a written protest in 2006 that Shochiku had failed to explain why the building needed to be demolished so soon after being designated a heritage site. As the original post in this thread notes, Shochiku had wanted to build a mixed-use high rise on the land so their motives are not beyond suspicion.

[Taro Toporific]

Kabuki-za was a hell hole pit---a megafunky theater built of beaverboard and natto with a single illegal stairway packed with hundreds of obachan falling and blocking 2-m wide path to street level.
Shochiku looks like they came up plan to make money and FINALLY provide proper access for the over 70+-years clientele.


[INDENT][floatl][/floatl]
Kabuki-za to be reincarnated in form of commercial high-rise
Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009 Japan Times/Kyodo News
The Kabuki-za theater, the mainstay host for the traditional art for more than a century, will be given new life as a high-rise accommodating a theater and business offices, a draft of its reconstruction plan showed Wednesday.
The plan, submitted by cinema producer Shochiku Co. to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, indicates the famed but obsolete theater in Tokyo's Ginza district is destined to become a 29-story building with four subbasements.
Construction is scheduled to begin in October 2010 for completion in March 2013.
The new building will feature barrier-free theaters on the first to fourth floors and an open-air garden on the fifth...more...[/INDENT]

[Taro Toporific]

If you want to catch kabuki in the Ginza Kabuki-za, you'd better start making plans now. Shochiku has confirmed that the theatre will be closing in April...

Crapbukiza bites the dust
...."Crowds have been queuing outside the theatre, which is listed as a cultural property and has been decorated with blue and red drop curtains with the farewell message 'Kabukiza. Sayonara performance.'" ...more....
AFP -- April 21, 2001