SINGAPORE - Four tender submissions have been placed by three developers for a pilot private assisted-living development with senior-friendly features in Parry Avenue.
This private project – a new housing-cum-care model that the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority are co-creating with industry players – comes more than a year after public assisted-living developments, or community care apartments, which integrate senior-friendly housing with care services, were introduced.
It represents an option for independent seniors who do not want to stay in a nursing home but still require some form of care, said Huttons senior director of research Lee Sze Teck.
Evaluation of the concept proposals will start after the tender closed on Tuesday. The agencies adopted a concept and price revenue tender, where tenderers are required to submit their concept proposals and tender prices separately.
The award of the site will be based on the evaluation of the proposals by an MOH-chaired concept evaluation committee, followed by the highest bid from the shortlisted proposals.
Of the four tender submissions received, one tenderer, Pre 20 – a subsidiary of Perennial Holdings – put in two bids with different concept proposals.
Perennial previously submitted the sole bid for a proposed dementia village in Gibraltar Crescent, said Mr Lam Chern Woon, head of research and consulting at Edmund Tie.
Another bidder is a consortium that includes Allium Healthcare Holdings, which operates a residential aged-care accommodation development, while the third bidder – United Medical Development – is an operator of private nursing homes, he added.
Mr Lam attributed the “relatively muted participation in the tender to the care component of the development”.
This refers to the requirement that at least 60 per cent of the maximum gross floor area (GFA) must be used for assisted living – including assisted-living units and communal spaces. At least 20 per cent of the maximum permissible GFA will be for health and medical care use – including 100 mandatory nursing home beds.
The land parcel comes with a 60-year lease and is zoned for residential use. It spans 12,912.1 sq m (slightly smaller than the size of two football fields), and GFA can range between 16,270 sq m and 18,077 sq m. Land and strata subdivision is not allowed.
“Given the prohibition on land or strata subdivision, the tender presents the scope for the successful tenderer to operate a residential care business rather than a more traditional development model of selling off sub-titles to residents and providing ancillary care services,” said Mr Lam.
“As our population ages, it is a matter of time before private senior-living products become more mainstream. While ageing in place is still preferred by many, the costs can be prohibitive as medical needs rise with age,” he added.
The Parry Avenue site is located within the Rosyth Estate and is near dining and shopping amenities such as Serangoon North Neighbourhood Centre and Heartland Mall.
As the Parry Avenue project is a pilot for future private assisted-living developments, the authorities included necessary guard rails to prevent developers from building a typical condominium for strata-unit sales, said Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at ERA Realty.
The authorities set a minimum age of 65 and above for future residents, and will require them to sign a lease for a minimum duration of three months. This is aimed at preventing the leasing of the premises as a short-term stay like that of a hotel or serviced apartment, Mr Mak said.
“Residents would not be able to purchase these units from the developer, instead they would be future tenants. The developer would not be able to sell the strata titles of the units similar to normal private condominiums,” he added.
