Section 3. Expansion to Tokyo

In accordance with this resolution, on October 26 of that year, Osaka Building acquired a property 1,837 m² in size at 1-3 Uchisaiwai-cho, Kojimachi-ku, Tokyo (now 1-2-2 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) from the Real Estate Division at Mitsubishi Limited Partnership Corporation (now Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.). The following year, in March 1926, Osaka Building acquired a property 1,595 m² in size directly adjacent to the east and began preparations for the construction of Hibiya Daibiru Buildings No. 1 and No. 2.

The reasons for choosing this location included the fact that Uchisaiwai-cho was the second-most desirable location after Marunouchi, being next to Hibiya Park and within walking distance of Ginza; the convenience of being close to Shimbashi Station on the Japanese National Railways line (now East Japan Railway Company) with nearby streetcar stops at the time; and the fact that the National Diet building and various government ministry buildings were expected to be built or relocated nearby. The first step in Osaka Building’s expansion to Tokyo would be to a location that was certain to experience commercial growth in the future.

On December 3, 1925, the company signed a contract with Watanabe Architects & Associates, commissioning them to design and supervise the project as they had with the original Daibiru building. On March 1, 1926, a foundation construction contract was signed with Obayashi Corporation, and work on the foundation began on March 10. The main construction contract was subsequently signed with Takenaka Corporation on May 17, and full-fledged construction got underway.

Hibiya Daibiru Building No. 1 was completed on July 31, 1927.