YACHIYO, Chiba Prefecture—An old housing complex here with aging residents and growing vacancies found a new lease on life after being renovated to house a Japanese language school and its dormitory.

The project by the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) at Murakami Danchi is first of its kind in Japan, helping the apartment complex serve as a hub for international exchanges, according to UR.

On Feb. 14, students served different meals from their home countries at a social gathering in one corner of the complex.

Nelini Silva, 23, from Sri Lanka was engaged in lively conversation with Kazuko Yuminamochi, who lives in the complex.

“It’s been a year since I came to Japan,” Silva told the 72-year-old resident. “I study while working part time at a convenience store.”

Yuminamochi was impressed with the students.

“I was worried at first, wondering what kind of people they were, but they study and work hard and it’s amazing,” she said.

Other senior residents also attended the gathering and students chatted with them in halting Japanese.

Murakami Danchi is a large housing complex equipped with schools, parks and other facilities, developed by Japan Housing Corp., the forerunner of UR, since the 1970s.

There were a total of about 4,000 buyer and renter households living in the complex during its heyday.

But more than 40 years after its completion, the average age of residents has increased significantly.

Last fall Richinomori, a Nagano Prefecture-based educational corporation that operates Japanese language schools across the country, opened a school in Murakami Danchi.

UR said it asked residents to move into other buildings as part of its consolidation plan and demolished 13 of the more than 50 apartment buildings.

UR solicited buyers for two apartment buildings—on the condition they would operate businesses related to education, medical care or welfare—and decided to sell the properties to Richinomori.

The educational corporation renovated the buildings, converting the upper levels into dormitories for students and the lower levels into classrooms and other facilities.

Currently, about 40 students from Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar are enrolled at the language school.

The students appreciate the easy commute to class—just a trip down the elevator.

However, there were concerns that allowing foreign students to live in the complex could result in problems due to differences in lifestyle habits and other factors.

Richinomori decided to focus on “community inclusiveness” as one of the themes for the school.

However, ordinary lessons in the classrooms had few opportunities for students to interact with the residents, so the students decided to host an event.

“I hope Danchi residents and students actively interact with each other, making use of the fact that the school is inside the complex,” said Hiroshi Tanaka, the former principal of the institution.

Students are also considering joining a summer festival hosted by residents.

“I think residents were also worried because they didn’t know who would be moving in,” said Shigetoshi Shimizu, a senior member of the Department of Stock Operation Promotion at UR, who oversees the renovation project.

“I hope these events encourage exchanges that make the Danchi a comfortable and open place to live in,” said Shimizu.

FILLING VACANT PREMISES

UR operates 696,250 units in 1,421 rental apartment complexes in the Tokyo and Kinki metropolitan areas and elsewhere as of the end of March 2024.

However, renovating Danchi complexes with residential buildings in disrepair and aging residents has been a major challenge for UR.

It is said that the useful life of regular reinforced-concrete structures is 70 years.

Nearly half of all rental units managed by UR were built 40 to 50 years ago, and are falling into disrepair.

While UR is fully replacing deteriorating Danchi complexes, it is also selling or demolishing some apartment buildings to use the newly vacated premises in its consolidation project.

At the Takamoridai Danchi complex in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, UR demolished some apartment buildings to make room for a home improvement center. The agency also sold part of the premises to a private homebuilder as an area to build houses for sale.

UR replaced decrepit buildings at the Hama-Koshien Danchi complex, which was completed in 1962 in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, to make way for premises where a nursing home for the elderly and a drugstore were built.

To create a local community, UR and other entities also founded Machino-ne Hama-Coshien, a general incorporated association, to help residents voluntarily organize social gatherings for families with small children and seniors.

“We take responsibility and take care of the Danchi and revitalize the community as we incorporate opinions from residents and municipal governments,” said Nobuki Tamura, a chief at UR’s Department of Stock Operation Promotion.