Japanese companies convert dorms to nursing homes
There was a time when many companies had dormitories for young, single employees.
This former company dormitory in Chuo Ward in the city of Chiba has been refurbished to serve as a nursing home and is scheduled to open in June.
During the bubble economy, corporations built luxurious apartments in prime locations in an effort to woo top-flight recruits.
But tougher conditions and staff cutbacks in the bubble’s collapse have forced more and more firms to try to unload residential properties or convert them to other uses.
Another trend may help them out of their predicament. Japan’s aging population has left nursing home operators scrambling for new facilities to meet growing demand. Now company dormitories are being remodeled to serve as private nursing homes.
The nursing homes are poplar with residents because of their convenient locations in central Tokyo.
Tokyo-based Century Life Co., an affiliate of condominium builder Haseko Corp., will open a six-story, 64-unit building in a quiet residential area near JR Nishi-Chiba Station, in the city of Chiba in June. It has begun taking applications from would-be residents this month.
The nursing home, called Century Port Nishi-Chiba, was built in 1991 and once served as a dormitory for single employees at a manufacturer.
Century Life installed new toilets and wider elevators to make the building “barrier free” at a cost of about 400 million yen.
