Bridgestone’s housing compound is in Tokyo’s most expensive residential area
Bridgestone is selling a housing compound in Tokyo’s upscale Roppongi area for more than JPY 63.3 billion ($423 million) above its book value, as the auto supplier parts with a property which has been on its balance sheet since 1897.
The former tire supplier for Formula One is selling the pair of apartment blocks in the capital’s Minato ward to an unrelated domestic company, Bridgestone said in a financial report late last week. The deal follows a private tender which began in mid-2023 at a rumoured guide price of over JPY 50 billion, according to market sources that spoke with Mingtiandi.
Scheduled to close by the end of May, Bridgestone’s describes the sale as part of its strategy “to use our management resources effectively.”
As the 5,696 square metre site is located within a designated residential zone in one of Japan’s most expensive residential districts, industry experts expect the property to be redeveloped as a luxury condo complex.
High-End Neighbourhood
The company housing compound, which spans 9,181 square metres (98,826 square feet) of floor area, is situated around 17 minutes’ drive southeast of Tokyo station, and is adjacent to Mitsui Fudosan’s Tokyo Midtown development and within 10 minutes’ walk of Mori Building’s Roppongi Hills.
The site is also next to Park Mansion Hinokicho-Koen, where average condo prices range from JPY 5 million to JPY 8 million per square metre. A 6,241 square foot penthouse in the neighbouring condo complex reportedly sold for JPY 5.5 billion in 2017, setting a record for Japan’s most expensive residential trade at the time.
Bridgestone global chief executive officer Shuichi Ishibashi
The asset is located in a mid/high-rise residential zone, which only permits buildings that have a floor area ratio up to 300 percent and a building coverage ratio of up to 60 percent.
Bridgestone’s sale, which is said to have been brokered by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, is taking place as current property listings show land in the Roppongi area being marketed at from JPY 2.3 million to JPY 3.9 million per square metre.
High-end condominiums in Roppongi and the adjacent districts of Azabu and Akasaka sold at an average price of almost JPY 3.3 million per square metre in the July to September period, up by around 10 percent from the same period a year earlier according to a report from Mitsui Fudosan Realty. The area outpaced the Shibuya and Aoyama neighbourhoods to rank as central Tokyo’s most expensive residential district during the period.
“For luxury condos and even rental apartments, demand has been outstripping supply in central Tokyo, and that has been pushing prices to new highs,” said Zoe Ward, director of brokerage Japan Property Central. “Some condos, especially around Roppongi, have seen prices increase by (around) 25 to 50 percent over the past 12 to 24 months.”
Minato Rush
Bridgestone disposed of its Minato asset amid a larger wave of activity in the ward’s luxury market, with local developer Daikyo spending JPY 50 billion on a residential site in the ward’s Shirokane neighbourhood last November. The condominium builder plans to develop a high-end residential project on the 16,815 square metre land parcel, according to sources familiar with the matter.
In November, Mori Building completed Azabudai Hills, a mixed-use complex in Roppongi which includes 1,400 luxury residential units. In 2022, a penthouse unit in the 64-storey tower was sold for around JPY 20 billion, making it Japan’s most expensive apartment ever, according to a report from Savills.
With Azabudai Hills completed, Mori is developing more luxury living space in Minato with the developer revealing recently that it plans to build Japan’s tallest condominium tower in Roppongi by 2030. Mitsubishi Estate and Mitsui Fudosan have also partnered to develop the Mita Garden Hills, a low-rise condominium in Minato’s Mita district set to launch in 2026.
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