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SINGAPORE – A show floor for Singapore’s first assisted living public housing is now open at HDB Hub, a week ahead of schedule.
Located at 9 Bukit Batok West Avenue, Community Care Apartments are for people 65 and older who want to live alone and yet enjoy community care, support and activities.
On Tuesday (December 29), seniors who visited the apartment told The Straits Times that they were drawn to the new concept, which allows them to forge close relationships with other people in their age group.
Part-time waiter Tan Soon Huat, 67, who took a trip specifically to visit the show flat, said the 32-square-meter unit is the perfect size for him and his wife.
“The size is nice, not too big and not too small. We are already old, whenever something can happen, so it is good to have neighbors helping and taking care of each other in this community,” he said, adding that his daughter is married. and she had moved out of her four-bedroom HDB apartment.
Each unit comes with senior accessories, including grab bars and a wheelchair accessible bathroom with a non-slip floor, to allow residents to move around their homes with ease.
The floors have an open layout and come with a built-in closet, cabinets, and a fitted kitchen to reduce renovation time.
There will be a furnished common space on each floor for residents to socialize and a community manager on site to facilitate activities.
Retired mechanic Roland Ho, 77, who visited the show flat, said he is considering applying for a flat with his 74-year-old wife when the project launches.
Ho, who currently lives in a four-bedroom HDB apartment, said: “It’s a nice concept and the unit seems comfortable. Last time, the government never built these kinds of apartments, right? Maybe we can be the first to move in. . “
The Community Care Apartments pilot lot will go up for sale in a build-to-order exercise next February. There will be around 160 units, expected to be finished in 2024.
The new type of flooring comes with a mandatory service package that includes a 24-hour emergency response and monitoring service, basic health checks, simple home repairs and activities in the common spaces within the development.
All residents will have to subscribe and pay for the basic service package, which starts at $ 22,000 for a 15-year lease.
Optional services such as cleaning, laundry, meal delivery, and shared care can be added at an additional cost.
The new public housing concept is piloted by the Ministry of National Development, the Ministry of Health, and the Housing Board to help older people age independently in the community with care options.
Seniors must be 65 or over to apply for these apartments. They can opt for a 15- to 35-year lease, in five-year increments, as long as it covers the applicant and their spouse, if any, until they are at least 95 years old.
Prices for these apartments range from $ 40,000 for a 15-year lease to $ 65,000 for a 35-year lease, and must be paid upfront in cash or with savings from the Central Provident Fund (CPF).
Government subsidies such as the Silver Housing Bonus, which gives seniors a cash bonus of up to $ 30,000 when they sell their existing apartment and recharge their earnings to their CPF Retirement Account, and the Enhanced CPF Housing Subsidy (EHG), are applicable to eligible applicants.
However, these flats cannot be resold or rented. Owners who no longer need the apartment can return it to the HDB, which will reimburse them for the remaining rental value of the apartment.
On Monday, National Development Minister Desmond Lee highlighted the show floor in a Facebook post, saying it “will allow visitors to get a better idea of the living space and layout of the unit.”
https://www.facebook.com/desmondtslee/posts/5216394741704759
In addition to the exhibition floor, the public can also view a sample of the common space, along with scale models of the block and floor, in the HDB Hub atrium at Lorong 6 Toa Payoh until March 31.
Visitors must book an appointment through HDB InfoWeb before visiting.
Densy Kum, 55-year-old senior partner relations and operations manager, said he expects more flats of this type for seniors in other parts of Singapore and will apply for one in the future, when he turns 65.
“It is good to be in an elderly community where there are people who will take care of each other. If I am sick or need help when I am older and alone, there will be people who take care of me and I will also have companions of the same age group with whom to mingle, “he said.
