Central Library relocation costs continue to climb, up 3.5 billion yen from Hiroshima’s initial plan, due to increased prices, unanticipated leasing fees
Mar. 22, 2024
by Keiichi Nohira, Staff Writer
The estimated costs for relocation of the Hiroshima City Central Library continue to rise. At present, the Hiroshima City government’s project is estimated to cost 13.1 billion yen, an increase of 3.5 billion yen over the original plan. The city government attributes the increase to soaring prices, which have pushed up the costs of acquiring and refurbishing the planned space in the Yale Yale A-kan Building, a commercial shopping center located in front of the JR Hiroshima Station (in the city’s Minami Ward) that will house the relocated library. Unanticipated leasing fees have added to the cost estimate. Concerns are now being raised about the uncertainty surrounding total costs for the project.
“The projections were overly optimistic. What will the total costs amount to?” queried a member of the Hiroshima City Council at a meeting of the council’s special budget committee on March 13. The line of questioning was an attempt to grasp the city government’s views on the ever-increasing project costs, based on the contention that total costs have not been revealed due to uncertainty about the necessary leasing fees and repair costs in the future.
The aim of the relocation project is to combine aging facilities and, through that process, update their functionality. Both the Central Library and the Cinematographic and Audio-Visual Library, in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, will be relocated to the A-kan Building. A section of the Hiroshima City Museum of History and Traditional Crafts, located in the city’s Minami Ward, will also be integrated into the building. The relocation work is scheduled to begin in July, with the new facilities scheduled to open in early fiscal 2026.
Project costs now estimated to reach 13.1 billion yen
The estimated project costs totaling 13.1 billion yen include 6.91 billion yen for acquisition of the commercial facility’s 8th–10th and other floors, 6.09 billion yen for refurbishing the space, and 100 million yen for the move itself. At its regular meeting, the Hiroshima City Council is now discussing the city’s draft initial budget for fiscal 2024, in which 5.443 billion yen has been allocated for the project. An additional 71 million yen has been allocated for leasing fees for the commercial facility’s 7th–9th floors and part of the 2nd floor basement. The reason for the separate allocation is because negotiations are ongoing with the landowner with regard to acquisition of space and, for the time being, the city simply plans to lease the floor space and initiate refurbishing work.
The Hiroshima City government first presented the estimated costs for the project in February 2022, with relocation to the commercial facility projected at that time to be 9.6 billion yen. However, in a basic plan for refurbishing the space announced in January 2023, the costs were estimated at 11.45 billion yen, an increase of 1.85 billion yen over the initial projection. In September 2023, against a backdrop of rising land and property prices, the city government increased the cost projection to 12.14 billion yen. The estimate rose again to the current 13.1 billion yen, due to reported higher material and labor costs.
In January this year, the city announced a plan related to the relocation project for construction of a new, specialized library on the site of the city mayor’s office designed for the preservation and utilization of some of the materials housed in the Central Library. The materials include the Asano Collection, an assortment of classical Japanese and Chinese publications and illustrations donated by the Asano family, a former lord of what was known as the ‘Hiroshima domain,’ and literary materials related to Hiroshima. The estimated costs for that project are expected to reach 3.7 billion yen. Initially, the new library had been included in the A-kan Building relocation project.
Concerns about insufficient space
Meanwhile, the Hiroshima City Children’s Library, which was to be relocated to the A-kan Building commercial facility in the original plan for the project, will remain in its current location. The library, housed in the same building as the Hiroshima City Children’s Museum, is now scheduled to undergo seismic-reinforcement work at the same time the Children’s Museum undergoes renovation. That work is estimated to cost around 3.0 billion yen. The city had planned to relocate the nearby Hiroshima City Youth Center to the space vacated by the Children’s Library after its scheduled relocation, but it has now decided to move part of the youth center’s functions into the Children’s Museum. With that, however, are concerns that the space will prove to be insufficient.
The city decided to relocate the Central Library to the commercial facility in front of Hiroshima Station, given the A-kan Building’s convenient location and capacity for meeting a diversity of needs, including as a space for young people to gather and for consultation services aimed at those hoping to launch new businesses. Although the project will be costly, the city government’s lifelong learning division explained that, “Listening to the opinions of the City Council and citizens, we continued looking into the matter and made the decision to enhance the library’s functionality.”
Keywords
Hiroshima City Central Library
The predecessor facility to the Hiroshima City Central Library was the Asano Library, which opened in 1926. Nagakoto Asano, a feudal lord of the Hiroshima domain, invested his own funds into construction of the library for the purpose of preserving publications and records related to his hometown of Hiroshima. The Central Library is now home to the Asano Collection, which includes classical Japanese and Chinese publications that survived the atomic bombing as well as literary materials related to Hiroshima. Before deciding to relocate the library to the commercial facility in front of the JR Hiroshima Station, the Hiroshima City government considered three proposals — the current location in the city’s Central Park, relocation and reconstruction within the park, and relocation to the Yale Yale A-kan Building.
(Originally published on March 22, 2024)
The estimated costs for relocation of the Hiroshima City Central Library continue to rise. At present, the Hiroshima City government’s project is estimated to cost 13.1 billion yen, an increase of 3.5 billion yen over the original plan. The city government attributes the increase to soaring prices, which have pushed up the costs of acquiring and refurbishing the planned space in the Yale Yale A-kan Building, a commercial shopping center located in front of the JR Hiroshima Station (in the city’s Minami Ward) that will house the relocated library. Unanticipated leasing fees have added to the cost estimate. Concerns are now being raised about the uncertainty surrounding total costs for the project.
“The projections were overly optimistic. What will the total costs amount to?” queried a member of the Hiroshima City Council at a meeting of the council’s special budget committee on March 13. The line of questioning was an attempt to grasp the city government’s views on the ever-increasing project costs, based on the contention that total costs have not been revealed due to uncertainty about the necessary leasing fees and repair costs in the future.
The aim of the relocation project is to combine aging facilities and, through that process, update their functionality. Both the Central Library and the Cinematographic and Audio-Visual Library, in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, will be relocated to the A-kan Building. A section of the Hiroshima City Museum of History and Traditional Crafts, located in the city’s Minami Ward, will also be integrated into the building. The relocation work is scheduled to begin in July, with the new facilities scheduled to open in early fiscal 2026.
Project costs now estimated to reach 13.1 billion yen
The estimated project costs totaling 13.1 billion yen include 6.91 billion yen for acquisition of the commercial facility’s 8th–10th and other floors, 6.09 billion yen for refurbishing the space, and 100 million yen for the move itself. At its regular meeting, the Hiroshima City Council is now discussing the city’s draft initial budget for fiscal 2024, in which 5.443 billion yen has been allocated for the project. An additional 71 million yen has been allocated for leasing fees for the commercial facility’s 7th–9th floors and part of the 2nd floor basement. The reason for the separate allocation is because negotiations are ongoing with the landowner with regard to acquisition of space and, for the time being, the city simply plans to lease the floor space and initiate refurbishing work.
The Hiroshima City government first presented the estimated costs for the project in February 2022, with relocation to the commercial facility projected at that time to be 9.6 billion yen. However, in a basic plan for refurbishing the space announced in January 2023, the costs were estimated at 11.45 billion yen, an increase of 1.85 billion yen over the initial projection. In September 2023, against a backdrop of rising land and property prices, the city government increased the cost projection to 12.14 billion yen. The estimate rose again to the current 13.1 billion yen, due to reported higher material and labor costs.
In January this year, the city announced a plan related to the relocation project for construction of a new, specialized library on the site of the city mayor’s office designed for the preservation and utilization of some of the materials housed in the Central Library. The materials include the Asano Collection, an assortment of classical Japanese and Chinese publications and illustrations donated by the Asano family, a former lord of what was known as the ‘Hiroshima domain,’ and literary materials related to Hiroshima. The estimated costs for that project are expected to reach 3.7 billion yen. Initially, the new library had been included in the A-kan Building relocation project.
Concerns about insufficient space
Meanwhile, the Hiroshima City Children’s Library, which was to be relocated to the A-kan Building commercial facility in the original plan for the project, will remain in its current location. The library, housed in the same building as the Hiroshima City Children’s Museum, is now scheduled to undergo seismic-reinforcement work at the same time the Children’s Museum undergoes renovation. That work is estimated to cost around 3.0 billion yen. The city had planned to relocate the nearby Hiroshima City Youth Center to the space vacated by the Children’s Library after its scheduled relocation, but it has now decided to move part of the youth center’s functions into the Children’s Museum. With that, however, are concerns that the space will prove to be insufficient.
The city decided to relocate the Central Library to the commercial facility in front of Hiroshima Station, given the A-kan Building’s convenient location and capacity for meeting a diversity of needs, including as a space for young people to gather and for consultation services aimed at those hoping to launch new businesses. Although the project will be costly, the city government’s lifelong learning division explained that, “Listening to the opinions of the City Council and citizens, we continued looking into the matter and made the decision to enhance the library’s functionality.”
Keywords
Hiroshima City Central Library
The predecessor facility to the Hiroshima City Central Library was the Asano Library, which opened in 1926. Nagakoto Asano, a feudal lord of the Hiroshima domain, invested his own funds into construction of the library for the purpose of preserving publications and records related to his hometown of Hiroshima. The Central Library is now home to the Asano Collection, which includes classical Japanese and Chinese publications that survived the atomic bombing as well as literary materials related to Hiroshima. Before deciding to relocate the library to the commercial facility in front of the JR Hiroshima Station, the Hiroshima City government considered three proposals — the current location in the city’s Central Park, relocation and reconstruction within the park, and relocation to the Yale Yale A-kan Building.
(Originally published on March 22, 2024)
