http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...oking-20140117

'Retirement resort' opens for booking

Analysts expect more such facilities as number of elderly goes up sharply

Published on Jan 17, 2014

By Cheryl Ong


WHAT has been touted as Singapore's first retirement village goes on the market today.

Industry watchers expect more of these facilities to be built as the numbers of the elderly increase dramatically.

Rising life expectancy and other factors, such as a shift away from extended families living together, will shore up demand - and developers are poised to take advantage of this trend.

The local trailblazer, developer World Class Land, felt confident enough to submit a bid of $73.8 million in 2012 for the 1.02ha site in the Jalan Jurong Kechil area.

The 60-year leasehold site in Upper Bukit Timah was earmarked by the Government for a "private retirement housing product".

The 281-unit project, The Hillford, is being marketed as a "retirement resort". It promises features such as 24-hour concierge service, full-time resort manager as well as clinics and restaurants, on top of typical condo facilities such as a swimming pool and gym.

Prices at the project range from $388,000 for a 398 sq ft one-bedder to $648,000 for a 61 sq m two-bedroom dual-key unit.

Retirement villages have long been popular in the West where seniors live in an area with a range of suitable facilities and services.

In Australia, for instance, the industry grew quickly in the 1980s and 1990s with rising affluence and a realisation that more options were needed for seniors to live independently, said Ms Mary Wood, executive director of the Retirement Living Council of Australia. She estimated that 180,000 seniors over the age of 65 live in more than 2,000 such facilities.

In Australia, such places can be on 15,000 to 20,000 sq m sites, or about 48ha in the United States, to allow for facilities like walking trails, dog parks and even banks. Health-care staff and social workers are also on site.

Fees can start from about A$200 (S$227) a month, but residents also "loan" the home by paying a one-off fee ranging from A$200,000 to A$1.2 million to the operator.

If they exit the village, a pro-rated amount will be returned. At The Hillford, a monthly maintenance fee of S$300 is payable, which will go towards the upkeep of facilities, the employment of a resort manager and the concierge service.

But these services fall some way short of the range of services considered the norm abroad.

As well as clinics and restaurants, The Hillford's resort manager will also be in charge of organising community activities such as yoga and or enrichment classes, World Class Land said.

But experts say an emergency nursing support system, available in most retirement villages abroad, should be offered here too. The facilities and services should last seniors through the various health stages they face as they age, said Dr Ng Wai Chong, medical director of Hua Mei Centre for Successful Ageing.

"It can't just be a property that you move into among elderly folks. There should be some kind of emergency system - people on stand-by who know how to care for the various conditions that could occur suddenly. Ideally, retirees should be able to live in a retirement village without having to ever move to a nursing home."

In Australia, nursing home-level care is often available within retirement villages.

Mr Donald Han, managing director of property firm Chesterton Singapore, believes the Government's move to increase the supply of one- and two-room HDB flats reflects a growing demand for housing for the elderly. "The private market offering will grow in tandem," he said. "Where there's demand, for sure we can expect more developers to jump onto the bandwagon."

The numbers bear this out. Singapore is one of the fastest ageing countries in the world, with the number of those aged 65 and above set to double from 352,000 in 2011 to 600,000 by 2020.

But building these homes for retirees poses its own set of challenges for developers.

World Class Land told The Straits Times that development costs at The Hillford were higher than their usual residential projects given the need for extra devices such as grab bars.

Mr Teo Hong Lim, chief executive of Roxy-Pacific Holdings, said the breakeven cost of these developments is higher as building larger lift lobbies and wider corridors means less sellable floor area. He added that Singapore's perennial problem of land scarcity makes it tough for developers to provide the sprawling facilities available abroad, but he would consider such a venture.

Roxy-Pacific was also a bidder for the Jalan Jurong Kechil site.

Mr Eugene Marchese, chairman of architecture firm Marchese Partners, which has designed 40 retirement villages in Australia, said building costs could range from A$60 million to A$120 million, depending on the scale of construction. This is about 20 per cent more than the cost of building a typical condo in Australia, he said.

Beyond caring for seniors' physical welfare and health, social services are equally important in retirement villages.

Dr Ng urged having trained staff on site to engage retirees and foster a sense of belonging.

Mrs Lee Li Ming, 77, who is still able to drive, said: "What we want is just company in a community." Although she was interested in The Hillford, she prefers the idea of a condominium with units designated for seniors instead. "The older community members can be of service to the younger people. A lot of us are still very bright, and we can still help and contribute to the community."

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