Singapore, Jan. 21 -- The Ascott, the lodging business unit of Singapore real estate firm CapitaLand, has given a facelift to a pre-war Japanese heritage site in Osaka and turned what was once a department store into a luxury residential hotel.
Located in Osaka's Namba entertainment district, the east annex of Takashimaya department store was built in 1928 and is recognised as a tangible cultural asset by the Japanese government.
The seven-storey Renaissance-style building was reopened yesterday as the 313-room Citadines Namba Osaka after a refurbishment that reportedly cost 14.5 billion yen (S$177.4 million).
Yesterday also saw Takashimaya unveil its refurbished archival exhibition hall in a separate wing that details its rise from i...