My parents’ house is located in the shopping street area on the south side of Chitose-Karasuyama Station. For many years, Keio Line has been carrying out an elevated railway project, with the section from Sengawa to Sasazuka planned to be entirely elevated.
Originally, the project was scheduled for completion in 2023. But even now, on the eve of that target year, progress has been painfully slow. Land acquisition has taken time, and the pandemic seems to have caused major delays. The FAQ section on the above site recently added this update:
On March 15, 2022, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced an extension of the project authorization (new project period: until the end of FY2030).
So the project has been pushed back eight years. To be honest, at the current pace, I’m not sure even 2030 will be enough.
As for Chitose-Karasuyama Station itself, a district plan has been drawn up alongside the elevation project. If realized, it will significantly transform the neighborhood around the shopping street.
When I recently visited my family home, I noticed a “newsletter” posted around town:
The contents were surprising for local residents.
According to it, the block south of the station plaza will be redeveloped into a large-scale complex. Perhaps something like Nocty in Mizonokuchi, or the south side of Fuchu Station on the Keio Line. Once completed, my family’s building will stand right next to this massive facility, separated only by the new road. Honestly, I can’t quite picture what it will feel like.
For context, my parents’ house is a small, 42-year-old building that serves as both residence and rental space. Built in 1980, before the Building Standards Act revisions, it could collapse or suffer heavy damage in a major earthquake. Ideally, we should have rebuilt it long ago, but circumstances have made it difficult. My mother is now 87, and this issue is shaping up to be one of the biggest themes in the later half of my own life. In fact, one of the reasons I became a licensed real estate agent was to gain basic knowledge about real estate transactions—even if I don’t intend to run an agency myself.
That’s why the progress of the redevelopment around Karasuyama Station’s south exit is so closely tied to our own rebuilding plans. Along with the elevation project, I intend to keep a close eye on how things develop.