The JR Nishinomiya Station Southwest District and Nishinomiya Wholesale Market will be redeveloped. We’ve put together what we know so far.
Partially updated on 2021/2/5
JR Nishinomiya Station Southwest District Redevelopment Q&A
Here’s what has been confirmed so far in Q&A format.
Where is it?
It’s the area southwest of JR Nishinomiya Station, stretching from the west side to the east side of Frente West Building.
Here it is on the map↓
The area as seen from Route 2↓
It looks like the buildings on the left, including the “らーめんさんさん” building along Route 2 shown above, will remain as they are.
The buildings along the east side shown below will be part of the redevelopment, so they will likely be demolished for the time being.
Show me the plan in more detail
The redevelopment appears to be divided mainly into three areas.
- Block A: Wholesale Market District
- Block B: Roadside Facility District (shops along National Route 2)
- Block C: Mixed-Use Facility District (condominiums and shops)
How large is the area?
It’s 1.5 hectares.
Koshien is 3.85 hectares, so it’s about 40% the size of Koshien Stadium.
What kind of buildings will be built?
Mainly the following five:
- A green plaza
- A 37-story tower condominium
- Several two-story buildings with shops
- An underground parking lot
- A wholesale market building
What shops will move in?
Nothing has been decided yet.
Nishi2 will be doing everything we can to get the latest information going forward!!
What will it look like?
The original image looked like this↓
(Some details have changed slightly as of now. More on that later.)
About the JR Nishinomiya Station Southwest District Urban Redevelopment Project
This image seems to be more of an “image is for illustration purposes” type of visual, meant to give a general idea of the layout and scale.
Isn’t the tower condominium really tall?
At 37 stories and 133 meters, it should become the tallest building in Nishinomiya.
Currently, the tallest building in Nishinomiya is Lapitas Nishinomiya in Ryodocho, which is 110 meters tall with 31 floors above ground. The second tallest is Central Garden Tower in Rokutanji-cho at 106 meters with 30 floors above ground. The third is Fine View Nishinomiya in Tsuto Otsukacho at 100 meters with 29 floors above ground.
*Source: Skyscraper Database
How many units will the tower condominium have?
It looks like there will be about 320 units.
When you think of it as “320 families suddenly being added in front of the station,” that’s pretty amazing.
Wait, didn’t they previously say there would be a multi-story parking garage?
The previous plan called for a multi-story parking garage.
However, as of December last year, due to a review of the facility plan, the multi-story parking garage was changed to an underground parking lot.
Original plan↓
That was changed to this↓
Apparently, because the flow of people to the shops was poor and there was a sense of pressure from Frente West Building, they changed the multi-story parking garage to an underground parking lot.
That would make the plaza much longer, with shops arranged along it.
In other words, people walking from Route 2 or Nishinomiya Station would be able to pass in front of all the shops.
Updated 2021/2/5↓
That was the plan, but now we’ve heard that the underground parking lot has been changed to a multi-story parking garage. This will also change the layout of the plaza. The shops are expected to face the plaza.
How many cars will the parking lot hold?
134 cars. The bicycle parking area will hold 180 bicycles.
For reference, Frente Nishinomiya’s parking lot has a whopping 495 spaces! So in terms of scale, this one is on the smaller side.
When will construction start?
The land is expected to be handed over by the end of September 2021, followed by the installation of temporary shops and demolition work.
So, when will it be completed?
It looks like it will be March 2025, six years from now. That’s the year the Osaka Expo will be held.
If you’re thinking, “Wait, déjà vu?” you probably read our previous article about the integrated hospital.
Construction is apparently scheduled to begin in November 2020.
How much will it cost in total?
It looks like it will be about 21 billion yen.
Anything unusual about it?
On days when the new wholesale market is closed, mainly weekends, there will apparently be a farmers’ market where producers sell freshly harvested ingredients, and space will also be provided for civic activities. It may become usable for events and things like that.
What do nearby residents think?
A survey was conducted asking nearby residents what facilities they felt were needed. (*Conducted in February 2016)
Yellow backgrounds indicate facilities included in the plan. Blue backgrounds indicate facilities that seem likely to be included.
- 1st: “Residential facilities such as condominiums”
- 2nd: “Commercial facilities convenient for everyday shopping”
- 3rd: “Civic service facilities such as a library”
- 4th: “Elderly welfare facilities such as day service centers”
- 5th: “Medical facilities”
- 6th: “Dining facilities such as family restaurants”
- 7th: “A large parking lot that can also be used by station users and others”
The condominium and parking lot are confirmed. Shopping facilities and restaurants seem likely to be included as well.
We’ll let you know as soon as we find out more new information!!
