In December 2000, the third Iwamizawa Station building burned down. Approximately eight years later, in March 2009, the long-awaited fourth station building was completed as part of a complex including city facilities. Following the opening of JR Iwamizawa Station in June 2007, the city of Iwamizawa exchange plaza, providing the city's citizens with a venue for a variety of activities as well as various services, and the Ariake passage (an open passage), which links the districts to the north and south of the station, both have opened. Together, these developments have created a new face for the city of Iwamizawa. These facilities have been designed and constructed based on the winning entry submitted by Workvisions Co., Ltd. to the Iwamizawa Station building architectural design competition (which received a total of 376 entries), held in 2004 as the JR Group's first attempt at a nationwide open design contest.