Industrial developer GLP Japan announced on Monday that it has begun construction of a warehouse in western Ibaraki prefecture, aiming to capitalise on logistics demand through the site’s connectivity with Tokyo and the Kanto region.

Located around an hour’s drive north of Japan’s capital, GLP Sakai Furukawa I will have a total floor area of 84,500 square metres (909,550 square feet) and will be able to accommodate up to 14 tenants, the Japanese unit of the world’s second-largest logistics developer and fund manager said in a press release. The warehouse is part of a two phase project which will span up to 163,000 square metres when complete.

“I am delighted to announce the successful commencement of construction for GLP Sakai Furukawa I,” said GLP Japan chief executive Yoshiyuki Chosa. “This facility can support multiple tenants and can accommodate a wide range of industries. Drawing on the experience and achievements in facility development and operation that our company has cultivated, we aim to create a facility that caters to the needs of occupying companies by providing multiple subdivided sections.

The project broke ground in the Saruyama-Jaike Development District, where the Japanese developer has plans to build a second facility on the same site of up to 78,500 square metres in size. The project will add to the approximately one million square metres of logistics space already developed by GLP Japan across some 170 logistics assets.

Connecting to Tokyo

GLP Japan first announced its development plans for the two-building project in July of last year, with total investment expected to be around JPY 32.7 billion ($224.1 million).

The project is situated along National Route 354, which will soon connect with the new National Highway No.4, according to the Prefectural Border Construction Office. The road development will connect the GLP project with the Tokyo metropolitan area and the northern Kanto area around the capital.

Ibaraki is also home to production facilities for some of the country’s largest car manufacturers with factories in the prefecture supplying vehicles for Nissan, Toyota and Toyota’s Hino truck subsidiary.

Each floor in the first phase of the project is designed to address different tenant needs, with the first level able to handle two metric tons per square metre and the second storey featuring multiple subdivided sections to offer smaller plot areas of 2,550 square metres. The third and fourth floors are supported with cargo elevators and have motion sensor lighting for cost-effective operations, while the first three floors will be ramped for direct vehicle access.

Expected to be completed by April 2025, GLP Sakai Furukawa I is set to incorporate solar panels for sustainable energy, along with safety measures against natural disasters, including emergency generators and flooding countermeasures.

GLP in Japan

Japan was one of GLP’s two original markets when it was founded in 2009, and the company has continued to grow its operations in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Last week, GLP started construction of the 18,000 square metres shed GLP Hayashima III in the Okayama prefecture, and in August the firm broke ground on its first data centre project in Japan with a 31-MW campus in Tokyo.

In June, the developer completed a 680,000 square metres logistics campus in Greater Tokyo in a project worth JPY 150 billion. The multi-purpose GLP Alfalink Sagamihara complex incorporates office accommodation as well as research and development facilities alongside logistics space across its four buildings.

GLP in April started construction on two fully refrigerated cold storage warehouses in Japan’s Kansai region. The purpose-built facilities have a total floor area of 55,000 square metres.

Despite a global downturn in property deals, investors purchased $6 billion in Japanese industrial assets during the first nine months of 2023, setting a new record for the period, according to MSCI.