Japan’s First Multi-Tenant Facility with Logistics Functions to Employ a Wooden Structure
Mitsui Fudosan Begins Construction on Mitsui Fudosan Industrial Park (MFIP) Ebina &forest as a New Industry Creation Hub
April 22, 2025
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
Key Points of this Press Release
- On April 1, 2025, construction began on MFIP Ebina &forest on a site directly in front of Ebina City Hall. The facility will offer logistics functions and around half of the overall building will comprise multi-use spaces for purposes such as offices, research facilities, and laboratories.
- It will be the first multi-tenant facility with logistics functions (multi-tenant warehouse) in Japan*1 to employ a partially wooden structure, and some of the wood used for the structural members, and interior and finishing materials will be sourced from forests owned by the Mitsui Fudosan Group in Hokkaido. Some of the shared spaces will have a wooden structure, which is expected to reduce CO2 emissions during construction by about 40% compared to steel frame construction*2.
Tokyo, Japan, April 22, 2025 - Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a leading global real estate company headquartered in Tokyo, announced today that it began construction on Mitsui Fudosan Industrial Park (MFIP) Ebina &forest (hereafter, “the Facility”) on April 1, 2025. Construction is scheduled to be completed at the end of June 2026.
The Facility is located in an area adjacent to Ebina City Hall in Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and in addition to offering logistics functions, around half of the overall building will comprise multi-use spaces for purposes including offices, research facilities, and laboratories. In this way, it will support the creation of agile hubs by tenant companies as a multi-business facility*3 which aims to provide a base for social innovation and added-value creation.
It will be the first multi-tenant facility with logistics functions in Japan to employ a partially wooden structure made using wood sourced in Japan and its name will include “&forest” as the name of the Mitsui Fudosan Group’s new brand of wooden structured buildings. Under the philosophy of cooperation, coexistence and co-creation represented by the Mitsui Fudosan Group’s “& mark,” we will promote the use of wooden materials in building construction to contribute to the circulation of natural resources and sustainable, future-oriented neighborhood creation.
MFIP Ebina &forest exterior (rendering)
- 1. Based on research by the Japan Logistics Field Institute, Inc.
- 2. Includes the amount of CO2 fixation accompanying the use of wooden materials based on the Japanese Forestry Agency’s Guidelines to Demonstrate Carbon Storage in Wood Used for Buildings and the amount of CO2 absorbed by reforested trees planted following the felling of trees for use in production, based on the Forestry Agency’s Calculation Method for Carbon Dioxide Absorption by Forests.
- 3: Reference release https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/corporate/news/2024/0830/ (published in August 30, 2024) (in Japanese)
1． Employment of a Partially Wooden Structure
The Facility will be the first multi-tenant facility with logistics functions in Japan to employ a partially wooden structure made using wood sourced in Japan. For some of the structural members of the wooden columns and the exposed part of the combustible layer, we are using Sakhalin fir wood taken from forests owned by the Mitsui Fudosan Group (in Biei, Hokkaido). We also actively used wood from Group-owned forests for the coated wood used on wood-steel hybrid beams and for the finishing and interior materials for the ceilings and other areas.
The shared spaces where domestically-sourced wood will be used in the structure are characterized by high floor heights (approx. 21.6 ft [6.6 m]) and wide-open spaces (approx. 35.4 ft by 42.6 ft [10.8 m by 13 m]), and they will be constructed using wooden columns and wood-steel hybrid beams (two-hour fire-resistance-rated). The wood-steel hybrid beams have been certified as fire-resistant structural members (two-hour fire-resistance-rated *4 by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The cross-sectional composition of these beams comprises a steel beam wrapped with gypsum board and wood as a fire-resistant covering. This wood helps to prevent heat from penetrating into the beam by burning slowly as it carbonizes, ensuring fire-resistant performance. The structural style can be defined as “partially wooden steel construction” with wooden columns providing the vertical bearing capacity to support the framework of wood-steel hybrid beams. In these shared spaces with a partially wooden structure, we will actively incorporate wooden structural and design elements to reduce CO2 emissions by about 40% compared to steel frame construction.
Wooden shared space exterior (rendering)
Wooden shared space interior (rendering)
Wooden structure section (rendering)
Click illustration to enlarge
- 4. Steel beam fire resistant covering material (two-hour fire-resistance-rated) using generally available wooden materials, by Nippon Steel Engineering Co., Ltd.
Reference release https://www.eng.nipponsteel.com/news/detail/20231017/ (published in October 17, 2023) (in Japanese)）
2． An Entrance That Stimulates the Senses of Workers and a Lounge Overflowing with Wood
The main entrance of the Facility is an organic and mellow space that provides the feel and fragrance of trees and plants. The walls capture the memory of land that was once rice fields, and art resembling an ear of rice represents a bountiful harvest. This will be shaped using the traditional techniques of ranma (carved transoms) craftsmanship to embody the harmony between people and nature.
In the third-floor lounge, we will use interior and finishing materials made of wood from Group-owned forests to create a space overflowing with a woody feel. We will also recreate a forest sound space through the KooNe*5 high-range spatial acoustics system, using the forests of the Biei area in Hokkaido where the wood is grown as the sound source. These measures ensure the fire-resistant performance required by a facility where logistics operations are carried out while also realizing spaces on the first to fourth floors that are overflowing with a woody feel, providing workers and visitors with a place to relax and refresh themselves.
- 5. Koone (high-range spatial acoustics system) is a registered trademark of JVC Kenwood Holdings Inc.
1F main entrance on the north side (rendering)
3F lounge (rendering)
< Comment from Yuko Tsunetsugu, Professor of Biomaterial Sciences at the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo >
Recently, there is a growing focus on using wood in buildings based on perspectives such as the biophilia hypothesis, which suggests that humans seek connection with other living things, such as the natural environment and animals and plants. In particular, it is thought that in workplaces, stimulation through the five senses, such as the sight, smell, and feel of wood, has a relaxing effect on workers. Therefore, the incorporation of wood into spaces where people work, like in this project, is attracting attention and I look forward to seeing its effects. Recent research has found that incorporating wood into the interior design and furniture of workspaces actually works to reduce fatigue and helps workers feel more comfortable in their work environment. The Sakhalin fir used in this project has a color that is closer to white compared to wood from other trees, and it makes a space seem brighter. There has yet to be any research carried out on what happens when Sakhalin fir wood is used in workspaces, so I hope those who visit or work at this facility will appreciate the feeling it creates. I expect that this project and others will demonstrate the appeal of better wooden environments realized through the use of wood in work environments and discover even greater value to be found in wood.
Professor Yuko Tsunetsugu
Reference 1: Mitsui Fudosan Group-owned Forests
Based on the principles of coexist in harmony with society, link diverse values, and achieve a sustainable society, as symbolized by the “& mark,” the Mitsui Fudosan Group has adopted &EARTH as its Group vision. As part of efforts to contribute to social and economic development and the conservation of the global environment under this vision, we have taken stewardship of about 5,000 hectares of forest in Hokkaido (equivalent to about 1,063 Tokyo Domes), and we are working to create never-ending forests by facilitating an ongoing cycle of planting, cultivation, and use through sustainable forest management.
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/and_forest/english/
Mitsui Fudosan Group’s cycle of creating “never-ending forests”
Sakhalin fir trees in a Mitsui Fudosan Group-owned forest
Reference 2: Use of Wood From Mitsui Fudosan Group-owned Forests
Within the Mitsui Fudosan Group, the wood is being used for the &forest wooden construction brand and Mitsui Home’s wooden construction technology brand MOCX, as well as in various other facilities.
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/business/development/earth/mokuzai/ (in Japanese)
■Map
Wide-area map
Small area map
■Property overview
| Location | 5-2 Chuo, Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture |
|---|---|
| Access | Approx. 2.8km from Ebina Interchange on the Ken-O Expressway 9-minute walk from Ebina Station on the Odakyu Odawara and Sotetsu Main Lines 11-minute walk from Ebina Station on the JR Sagami Line |
| Site area | Approx. 213,362 ft2 (approx. 19,822 m2) |
| Total floor area | Approx. 432,913 ft2 (approx. 40,219 m2) |
| Scale/Structure | Four aboveground floors / Partially wooden steel construction |
| Zoning | Offices and warehouses |
| Architect/Builder | Nippon Steel Engineering Co., Ltd. |
| Construction start | April 1, 2025 |
| Completion | End of June 2026 (planned) |
■Mitsui Fudosan’s Logistics Business
Mitsui Fudosan launched the Logistics Properties Department (currently Logistics Properties Business Division) in April 2012, marking the start of its full-fledged engagement in logistics facility development. In addition to the Mitsui Fudosan Logistics Park (MFLP) flagship brand, which includes MFLP Funabashi III, Mitsui Fudosan has been developing Mitsui Fudosan Industrial Park (MFIP) properties, which are mixed-used facilities that include not only logistics facilities but also offices and data centers. To date, it has developed 76 MFIP properties in Japan and overseas (66 in Japan and 10 overseas), and it will continue to pursue aggressive new development. Mitsui Fudosan has embraced “Connecting Values Together with Customers” as its business statement, and the Company not only intends to connect diverse people, goods and concepts, but also continues taking on the challenge of creating value not bound by existing frameworks as the solution partner of tenant companies.
Release concerning the naming of the Mitsui Fudosan Group’s wooden construction brand as &forest
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/corporate/news/2025/0422_02/ (in Japanese)
■ Sustainability in the Mitsui Fudosan Group
Based on the meaning of its “& mark,” “to generate new value with society through cooperation, coexistence and co-creation, we forge ahead, innovating,” the Mitsui Fudosan Group views the “creation of social value” and the “creation of economic value” as two wheels of a cart. Accordingly, we believe that the creation of social value leads to the creation of economic value, and that this economic value then creates even greater social value.
Moreover, we identified six Group Materiality priority issues when formulating our new management philosophy in April 2024. These Group Materiality priority issues are (1) Contribute to industrial competitiveness, (2) Coexist with the environment, (3) Health and Vitality, (4) Safety and security, (5) Diversity and inclusion, and (6) Compliance and governance. The Mitsui Fudosan Group will work to address each of the materialities through its core business activities and contribute to the promotion of sustainability.
(References)
・ Group Management Philosophy and Long-Term Vision
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/corporate/innovation2030/
・ Group Materiality
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/esg_csr/approach/materiality/
・ & EARTH for Nature
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/business/development/earth/for-nature/
Furthermore, in April 2025, the Mitsui Fudosan Group formulated “& EARTH for Nature,” its declaration of coexistence with the environment in neighborhood creation. Seeing the environment as a “Holistic Environment” blending nature, people, and community into a cohesive whole, the Group is promoting neighborhood creation that expands prosperous “Holistic Environments” and passes them on to future generations. In the Declaration, five key issues to address have been established: Preserve and nurture greenery, Harness the allure of water, Enrich the ecosystem, Connect the aspirations of the community, and Promote the circulation of natural resources. The initiatives described in this news release contribute to one of the key issues to address in “& EARTH for Nature.”
