City Tower Shinagawa

A 43-story residential skyscraper completed in 2008 in the Konan district, southeast of Shinagawa Station. Developed by Sumitomo Realty on a fixed-term land lease, it stands as a landmark of the Konan neighborhood's transformation from an industrial district.

Use

Residential tower

Area

Minato City

Completed

2008

Floors

43 above ground

Developer

Sumitomo Realty & Development

A 43-Story Tower Rising over Konan

Konan 4-chome, Minato City, Tokyo. Walk southeast from Shinagawa Station for about ten minutes and the low-rise streetscape — carrying traces of warehouses and logistics facilities — gives way to a residential tower of considerable height. City Tower Shinagawa, completed in 2008 and developed by Sumitomo Realty & Development, is a 43-story tower mansion standing in a district that was once defined by industry and freight. The tower was constructed by Takenaka Corporation.

Konan had long been a strongly industrial area. As Shinagawa Station’s south exit was developed and office buildings clustered around the station, demand for housing spread outward. Large-scale office complexes anchored the area immediately around the station, while residential high-rises appeared at a short walking distance — a spatial pattern that quietly reshaped the neighborhood. City Tower Shinagawa arrived within that shift, embodying the reorganization of Konan over the 2000s.

A Fixed-Term Land Lease and Urban Housing

One of the defining characteristics of this tower is its use of a fixed-term land lease structure. Rather than purchasing land outright, the scheme involves leasing the site for a set period, with the land to be returned at the end of the lease term. This arrangement allows large residential developments to be built on scarce urban land where full ownership would be prohibitively costly — and has been used in several landmark residential projects across central Tokyo.

Standing 43 floors above ground, the tower commands a clear presence among the surrounding buildings. Retail space is integrated into the lower floors, connecting the building to the everyday rhythms of the neighborhood. As the Konan district continues its transition from industrial uses toward a mixed residential and office environment close to the bay, this tower remains one of the clearest markers of that change.

Summary

City Tower Shinagawa was completed in 2008, with 43 floors above ground, developed by Sumitomo Realty & Development on a fixed-term land lease arrangement. As a residential skyscraper in the shifting landscape of Konan, it records the story of how a warehouse district became a place to live.

Leaving Shinagawa Station by the south exit and walking toward the bay, the 43-story silhouette gradually fills the sky behind the lower buildings. Walking Konan slowly is the best way to see how quickly — and how thoroughly — Tokyo rewrites its industrial past.

Related: Shinagawa Intercity / Shinagawa Season Terrace

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