SINGAPORE: The site of the former Henderson Primary School in Singapore will soon be transformed into an intergenerational co-living space with shared facilities and 107 rooms for both young and old.

It will be the first state property to take on such a concept, and operators told CNA in November that they hope to have the place up and running “within the next three to four months”.

Earlier in the same month, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) announced it had awarded the tender for 98 Henderson Road to dormitory provider TS Group and co-living operator The Assembly Place.

The 77,551 sq ft site was first put up for tender in June to encourage “intergenerational co-living concepts”. TS Group and The Assembly Place jointly submitted the highest out of six bids.

The two companies said they see intergenerational co-living as a viable alternative to existing eldercare residential options for a rapidly greying population in Singapore.

Current choices include "retirement kampungs", community care apartments and private sector offerings such as assisted living facilities.

The intergenerational co-living concept is already available in other countries such as Japan and the Netherlands, said TS Group’s chief operating officer Tome Oh, noting that these inclusive spaces can provide seniors with “meaningful social engagement” to help improve their overall well-being.

“Seniors also have many experiences they can share with the younger people,” Mr Oh added. “So, it’s like a jigsaw puzzle that you can nicely put together.”

Co-living in Singapore may attract more of a younger crowd for now but TS Group and The Assembly Place believe their upcoming space at Henderson Road can also appeal to seniors who lead active lifestyles and want easy access to organised activities.

Other potential residents include seniors who currently live alone and wish to find new friends and be part of a community, or those looking for temporary accommodation that offers some form of care in a non-hospital setting, said Mr Oh.

To meet the needs of the intergenerational residents, the companies said they have been “mindful” in planning for “functional” facilities and services.

For example, rooms for the seniors will be located on the ground floor - as the site has no lifts. These will come with their own bathrooms and safety features such as grab bars and fall detection sensors.

Full-time nurse aides will be stationed on site, and regular doctor consultations will be available through a partnership with Crawfurd Hospital, a private facility already working with TS Group to offer assisted living care services and accommodation, said Mr Oh.

Other facilities include shared kitchens and lounges, a community garden, a multi-purpose hall for events and a gym with smart equipment to help senior residents track their fitness progress.

An existing basketball court may also be converted into a venue for low-impact sports such as pickleball, which has been gaining popularity here among both young and old, said Mr Eugene Lim, director of The Assembly Place.

Like all co-living spaces, the site will have dedicated community managers who organise events to help build a sense of community among residents, said Mr Lim, whose firm operates 135 co-living spaces in Singapore.

“We are not a nursing home,” he added.

“We want to promote active ageing and also come up with unique programming that allows both the young and old to come together.”

Taking reference from similar multi-generational co-living models overseas, the upcoming space is also mulling a “benefits programme” where younger residents can receive discount vouchers - to apply to rent or other services - if they contribute back to the community.

For instance in Taiwan, a co-living space called Yang-Ming Senior Apartments rents out rooms to both seniors and university students. Students pay lower rent to encourage them to organise activities and interact with their older neighbours. 

MORE TO COME?

The 98 Henderson Road plot will be offered for lease for an initial term of four years, with an additional tenancy term of three years.

Experts previously described this as a “fairly short” lease that may make it challenging for businesses to recover their investments.

The bid from TS Group and The Assembly Place was S$102,888 (US$76,373) a month, nearly S$21,000 more than the second-highest offer.

Asked if their bid amount would mean a higher price point for the co-living space, Mr Oh said: “If you charge too high, nobody will come, so that will have to be balanced with market demand and expectations.”

The aggressive bid also stemmed from confidence in the potential of the intergenerational co-living concept.

“We are going in with our eyes open,” said Mr Lim, describing the tender as “a pilot project with a lot of unknowns”.

“It is not high margins that we are looking at. Instead, we are investing in the future because we know this is going to be a necessity in the market in the long run.”

In the past two years, SLA has launched a total of seven state property tenders for co-living use, and attracted more than 70 bids.

“With the ongoing demand for varied co-living spaces, suitable state properties have been repurposed to meet the real estate accommodation needs of various demographic groups, including seniors, as Singapore’s population matures,” the authority said in a Facebook post on Nov 18.

Looking ahead, it will explore the "adaptive reuse" of more asset classes within its state property portfolio for “differentiated co-living environments”.

And one potential site being explored, said SLA, is a cluster of heritage bungalows in the Admiralty area north of Singapore.