7 Small Concession Case Studies — Municipal Approaches to Revitalizing Idle Public Assets [2026 Edition]

The Small Concession Formation Promotion Project is a program in which the national government dispatches selected specialists to municipalities considering the utilization of idle public real estate, providing hands-on support throughout the feasibility process. In FY2026, 7 municipalities were selected, with specialists supporting the early stages of project development, from area vision formulation to facility condition surveys.

A key feature of this program is that municipalities can draw on specialist expertise without bearing the cost — the national government covers specialist fees, allowing municipalities to focus on deliberation. For a general overview of the Small Concession framework, see What Is Small Concession?.

The following table lists the 7 municipalities selected in FY2026, along with their target facilities and selected specialists.

Key Points for Each Case

Manazuru Town (Kanagawa) — A small port town of approximately 6,600 residents. The revitalization of the former folk museum (a historic townhouse) is being supported by EnjoyWorks, a company with a track record in townscape development. The firm has particular strengths in crowdfunding-based renovation projects.

Anjo City (Aichi) — A core city of approximately 190,000 residents. As the historic townhouse is located within a historic park, reconciling cultural property preservation with active use is a central issue. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu provides expertise as a major consultancy.

Ikeda Town (Hokkaido) — Population approximately 6,200. This is a complex case involving the integrated utilization of three facilities: the former Takashima Elementary School, a former clinic, and a former residence. Notably, the selected consortium — an incorporated association (Area Craft Hokkaido) together with a regional advertising firm (Hokkaido Hakuhodo) — demonstrates that incorporated associations can be selected as specialists.

Nagasu Town (Kumamoto) — Population approximately 15,000. This case examines the reuse of the former Nagasu Junior High School. The Construction Engineering Research Institute provides technical expertise. For detailed procedures on former school reuse, see Complete Guide to Former School Utilization.

Trend 1: Historic Townhouses Account for 4 of 7 Cases

Four of the 7 municipalities (Manazuru, Anjo, Himeji, and Nara) are focusing on historic townhouses. This is not coincidental — it reflects the national government's promotion strategy, which positions "historic townhouses and similar structures donated by residents" as primary targets.

Compared to former schools or government buildings, historic townhouses have the following characteristics:

• Smaller building footprints, resulting in relatively lower renovation costs
• A wider range of revenue-generating options (tourism, food and beverage, accommodation)
• Potential for project design that draws on the community's historical context

That said, facilities designated as cultural properties (as in the Nara City case) face restrictions on renovation freedom, requiring more careful project design to ensure financial viability.

Trend 2: Specialists Range from Major Firms to Small Associations

Selected specialists include major consulting firms such as PwC and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, large construction consultancies (Construction Engineering Research Institute), urban development firms (EnjoyWorks), and incorporated associations (Area Craft Hokkaido).

The Ikeda Town case is particularly instructive: a consortium of an incorporated association and a regional advertising agency was selected over large firms. This demonstrates that the "small" in Small Concession applies not only to project scale, but also to the scale of specialist organizations.

Trend 3: No Population Size Threshold for Participation

The 7 municipalities range in population from approximately 6,200 (Ikeda Town) to approximately 520,000 (Himeji City). Three municipalities have fewer than 20,000 residents (Manazuru Town, Ikeda Town, and Nagasu Town), demonstrating that conditions are emerging for smaller municipalities to pursue Small Concession initiatives.

The following framework helps assess whether the 7 cases are applicable to your own municipality.

How to read this table: Identify the case with conditions most similar to your municipality, and use that case's specialist support approach and project scheme as a reference. However, even when preconditions appear similar, results can vary significantly due to factors not captured in the table — such as private sector interest in participation and community consensus-building.

Rather than copying the surface-level approach of a case, it is essential to understand its structural success factors (why that particular method was chosen, why that particular specialist was selected) before designing a project suited to your municipality's specific context.

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Whether you find yourself thinking "we could do this too" or "this doesn't apply to us," the first necessary step is to accurately understand your own municipality's preconditions.

ISVD offers free consultations to help municipalities clarify their preconditions and identify the most appropriate public-private partnership approach.

References

Call for Specialists to Be Dispatched to Local Governments Working on Small Concessions (2026)

Dispatching Specialists to Local Governments Examining Small Concessions (2025)

Small Concession Promotion Policy (2024)

Small Concession Platform (2024)