Tokyo Sky Tree: Room with a view

TOKYO (TR) – Tall, steel-framed television transmission towers are not generally thought of as being attractive neighbors.

Yet real estate firm Sky Court is hoping that Tokyo Sky Tree, now under construction in the capital’s eastern Sumida Ward, will convey a different image.

The company has taken out newspaper advertising space to promote the units within its Sky Court Oshiage Ichibankan complex as investment properties due to their proximity to the future 634-meter-tall structure, which will make it the world’s tallest free-standing tower when it is completed next year.

“With a location in the center of the city and nearby public transportation, there are positive prospects for further developments in the area targeting single people seeking a lifestyle centered on convenience,” said company representative Tsutomu Sugiura in a dispatch to The Tokyo Reporter.

The 49 apartments range from 21 to 25 square meters and are priced between 19.8 million and 24.2 million yen. The property is located mere minutes from the white structure, presently at the 303-meter mark and draped in green construction netting. The newspaper ads estimate that one of the mid-size units will fetch roughly 68,700 yen per month on the current rental market.

Once finished, a mixed-use development will occupy an area at the tower’s base, which will front Kitajukken River and Shinsui Park.

Indeed, the area may be centrally located from a real estate perspective, as Sky Court says, but from a technology point of view the position of Tokyo Sky Tree, about 8 kilometers from the city’s financial district at Tokyo Station, is somewhat remote to eliminate the impact of the city’s skyscrapers on transmission signals.

Tokyo Tower has been a landmark in the metropolis since its establishment in 1958. The transmitter will largely be taken out of commission when Japan’s broadcasters switch to digital next year and begin utilizing Tokyo Sky Tree.

The urban land price index fell by 7.8 percent in the first half of last year for Japan’s six biggest cities, according to the Japan Real Estate Institute. But Sky Court believes the Tokyo Sky Tree, designed in part by famed architect Tadao Ando, is a highly positive selling point.

“It is natural to think that Tokyo Sky Tree will reach the same symbolic level of Tower Tokyo,” Sugimoto said. (C.J.)

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