# The Assembly Place targets younger crowd with launch of Gather House capsule hotel

- **Source:** EdgeProp Singapore
- **Published:** 2026-08-21T00:41:48.000Z
- **Author:** Cecilia Chow
- **Original:** https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/assembly-place-targets-younger-crowd-launch-gather-house-capsule-hotel
- **Topics:** New Launches

## Featured rationale

Strong early occupancy at $50 nightly signals demand from budget-conscious young foreign travellers and could support further expansion of affordable hospitality accommodation in Singapore.

## AI summary

TAP’s 132-bed Gather House capsule hotel will fully open in mid-September, after initial occupancy reached nearly 100% on weekends and 80% on weekdays.

## Original article

At 43, Eugene Lim makes a point of keeping up with what appeals to younger consumers. The CEO of Catalist-listed community living operator The Assembly Place (TAP) has taken up Hyrox, joined an ice-bath club and started Pilates — activities that double as market research.

“You have to be personally involved, go to these places, observe the young people and talk to them in order to understand what they want,” he says.

That philosophy is increasingly shaping TAP’s expansion beyond conventional co-living into student accommodation, hotels, wellness-focused developments and other hospitality concepts.

Read also: Co-living sets the stage for Ngee Koon, Zenco Casa's ambitions in hospitality interiors

Its latest is Gather House, a capsule hotel on South Bridge Road, targeting travellers under 25.

The idea came partly from Lim’s memories of travelling with friends when he was younger, and sharing hotel rooms on a budget.

“If you have three or four friends in one hotel room, there will always be one or two persons who will end up on the floor in a sleeping bag,” he says. “We have all done that when we were young.”

Capsule stays for young travellers

Singapore’s growing calendar of major concerts has added to its appeal among regional travellers. The city hosted Taylor Swift, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran in 2024, followed by Blackpink, Jason Derulo and Doja Cat in 2025. This year’s line-up includes BTS, BigBang and The Weeknd.

As of June 2026, Singapore’s average nightly hotel room rate stood at $271, according to the Singapore Tourism Analytics Network. Economy-tier rooms averaged about $117 a night, while mid-tier rooms averaged $192.

Rates can climb further during peak periods. “If you are still a student or in your mid- to late-20s and have just started work, a holiday in Singapore with your friends will not be cheap,” says Lim.

TAP soft-launched Gather House at the four-storey shophouse at 65 South Bridge Road in early August. The adjoining 63 South Bridge Road is expected to open in mid-September. Together, the two buildings will have 132 beds.

Read also: Home, through every stage of life: A National Day 2026 special

“We are targeting young travellers who want to come to Singapore for concerts and live events, but find existing hotel room rates too expensive,” says Lim.

Guests can choose from men-only, women-only or mixed rooms with shared bathrooms. Each bed, described as a “pod”, comes with privacy curtains, lights, a ledge and charging points for a phone and other devices, and knobs for hanging clothes. Each guest is also provided with a locker for luggage and valuables.

Since the soft launch, the 72 beds at 65 South Bridge Road have seen occupancy approach 100% on weekends and around 80% on weekdays. More than 90% of guests are foreigners, mostly from Southeast Asia, China and South Korea, says TAP.

The introductory rate is $50 a night, says Lim. When Gather House is fully opened in mid-September, rates are expected to range from $60 to $65 a night.

TAP has a 10% stake in the joint venture that owns 63 and 65 South Bridge Road. Its partners are Apricot Capital (the family office of the Teo family behind Super Group beverage empire), and Eric Low, TAP’s non-executive chairman and substantial shareholder.

The South Bridge Road properties, located on the edge of Chinatown and the CBD, were acquired in 2024 for an undisclosed sum, according to a property title search.

Read also: The Assembly Place net profit climbs 80.7% on co-living expansion, looks ahead to 'robust' pipeline

Following members through different life stages

TAP’s portfolio has expanded well beyond its original co-living business.

Since Lim founded the company in 2019, TAP has moved into student accommodation, hotels and intergenerational co-living, including accommodation for seniors. It has also ventured into hostel-style housing for healthcare workers and workers’ dormitories with TS Group.

TAP currently has a pipeline of 2,100 keys targeted to become operational over the next two years.

Still, about 85% of TAP’s more than 10,000 members are under 35, according to Lim. About 95% are foreign nationals. “We want our members to journey with us through the different stages of their lives,” he says.

Its student accommodation concept Campus opened as a 426-bed facility at Telok Kurau in October 2023, targeting junior college, polytechnic and university students.

n late 2024, TAP launched Stay, aimed at students aged 13 to 15, in four black-and-white colonial-era bungalows at Woodleigh Park owned by national water agency PUB.

TAP and TS Group followed in June 2025 with their intergenerational co-living space at Commune @ Henderson, created by refurbishing and repurposing the former Henderson Primary School. The partners secured the site through a Singapore Land Authority (SLA) tender.

That same month, TAP entered the hotel segment with Social on Outram, a 26-room property occupying a four-storey pre-war shophouse along Outram Road.

The 26-room Social on Mayo in the Jalan Besar area followed in October 2025. Room rates at the two Social properties range from about $118 to $180 a night, says Lim.

With fewer than 100 rooms each, however, both remain boutique hotels. Lim’s ambition is to eventually operate on a larger scale.

In March 2026, TAP, together with joint-venture partners Apricot Capital and Low, acquired the former Lian Huat Building, an 11-storey freehold commercial property at 163 Tras Street, for $90 million.

TAP holds a 10% stake in the joint venture. “Our strategy is to remain asset-light,” says Lim.

URA has granted provisional permission to change the building’s use from commercial to hotel. Lim intends to convert it into a 168-room hotel, also branded Social.

“We are hoping that by the time the asset [at Tras Street] is ready, TAP will have built an organic following of tourists who choose to stay at our hotels because the brand is forward-thinking, a bit edgy and very relatable,” he says.

Phoenix Park goes big on wellness

TAP’s biggest undertaking to date is Phoenix Park. In June, TAP and TS Home, a subsidiary of TS Group, secured the master tenancy for the sprawling site at 300 to 320 Tanglin Road after submitting the highest of seven bids in an SLA tender.

The partners offered monthly rent of $404,888 for an initial five-year term, with an option to renew for another four years. TAP holds a 39% stake in the joint venture.

They intend to transform the 610,000 sq ft site, which contains 33 conserved colonial buildings, into Phoenix Park Wellness Village. Billed as “Singapore’s largest co-living destination”, it will have more than 700 keys, complemented by commercial space with F&B and retail outlets, community spaces, sports and wellness facilities.

Student accommodation will make up the majority of the more than 700 keys, although there will be some serviced apartments. The mix could range from studios to two-, three- and four-bedroom units with en suite bathrooms.

The partners are scheduled to take over the site in October and plan to open it in phases, with the first phase targeted for 1Q2027.

Wellness will be a major component. Lim is in talks with a Hyrox-focused gym operator and also wants to create a 500m running loop within the grounds. Plans also include a sports recovery and wellness centre with ice baths, hot baths, saunas and infrared light therapy.

He is also in discussions with padel and pickleball operators on setting up courts at Phoenix Park.

“We are bringing together our accumulated expertise and that of our joint-venture partners to create a meaningful co-living mega wellness village,” says Lim.

Creating communities around AI

For Lim, however, the physical facilities are only part of the proposition. He places equal emphasis on curating programmes and creating communities around shared interests.

That thinking is also behind TAP’s move into AI-focused co-living. In May, TAP entered into a tenancy agreement with Char Yong (Dabu) Association, one of Singapore’s oldest clan associations. It plans to convert two adjoining blocks at 27 and 29 Lorong 22 Geylang into what it calls an “AI-powered co-living development”.

The development in Geylang will include 80 co-living rooms, a dedicated AI Lab with workspaces, and a community hub. The lease is for 15 years, with an option to renew for another five years.

Lim envisages the AI Lab as an ecosystem for entrepreneurs and one-person companies (OPCs) to collaborate and develop AI tools and consultancy services that help businesses use AI to operate more effectively with small teams.

“We already have a pool of AI engineers and scientists working with us to host community nights and teach our members how to use AI to help solve issues,” he says. “I want to attract AI natives and OPCs to be part of this ecosystem.”

With Phoenix Park positioned largely as student accommodation, Lim expects the AI community nights to attract members from there too.

Taking Social overseas

TAP is also expanding outside Singapore, with Malaysia and Hong Kong among its target markets.

In September, it plans to launch the 66-room Social in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

Lim expects the hotel to benefit from TAP’s growing emphasis on wellness and fitness communities. Kuala Lumpur is scheduled to host its first Hyrox event in December, and members of one Hyrox community in Singapore already intend to travel there and stay at Social, he says.

The hotel will have a gym equipped with Hyrox competition-grade equipment, as well as a Hyrox recovery centre that includes an ice bath and sauna. It will also offer a healthy breakfast selection.

For Lim, such concepts come back to the same question that has shaped TAP’s expansion: What does its predominantly young customer base want next?

Even TAP’s management team has undergone Hyrox training. Lim believes being on the ground and participating in these activities has helped the company shape brands, events and community programmes that resonate with its target audience.

Keeping up can be tiring, he acknowledges. “Our ambition is always to stay ahead of the curve and remain relatable to young people,” he adds.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: openai_codex_cli

### The Assembly Place 推出 Gather House 胶囊酒店，瞄准更年轻客群

Gather House 是一家面向 25 岁以下旅客、拥有 132 个床位的胶囊酒店，已于 8 月初试营业，并将在下个月全面运营

43 岁的 Eugene Lim 一直有意识地紧跟年轻消费者的喜好。这位 Catalist 上市社区居住运营商 The Assembly Place (TAP) 的首席执行官开始参加 Hyrox、加入冰浴俱乐部，并练起普拉提——这些活动同时也是市场调研。

“你必须亲自参与，去这些地方，观察年轻人，并和他们交谈，才能了解他们想要什么，”他说。

这种理念正日益塑造 TAP 从传统共居业务向学生住宿、酒店、注重健康的开发项目以及其他酒店住宿概念扩张的方向。

延伸阅读：Co-living sets the stage for Ngee Koon, Zenco Casa's ambitions in hospitality interiors

其最新项目是 Gather House，一家位于 South Bridge Road、面向 25 岁以下旅客的胶囊酒店。

这个想法部分来自 Lim 年轻时与朋友旅行、在预算有限的情况下合住酒店房间的回忆。

“如果三四个朋友住在一间酒店房里，总会有一两个人最后睡在地上的睡袋里，”他说。“我们年轻时都这么做过。”

面向年轻旅客的胶囊住宿

新加坡不断增长的大型演唱会日程，提升了其对区域旅客的吸引力。该城市在 2024 年举办了 Taylor Swift、Coldplay 和 Ed Sheeran 的演出，2025 年则有 Blackpink、Jason Derulo 和 Doja Cat。今年的阵容包括 BTS、BigBang 和 The Weeknd。

根据 Singapore Tourism Analytics Network 的数据，截至 2026 年 6 月，新加坡酒店客房平均每晚房价为新币271元。经济型客房平均约为每晚新币117元，中档客房平均为新币192元。

高峰期房价还可能进一步上涨。“如果你还是学生，或者处于 20 多岁中后段、刚开始工作，和朋友来新加坡度假不会便宜，”Lim 说。

TAP 于 8 月初在 65 South Bridge Road 的四层店屋内试营业 Gather House。毗邻的 63 South Bridge Road 预计将在 9 月中旬开业。两栋建筑合计将拥有 132 个床位。

延伸阅读：Home, through every stage of life: A National Day 2026 special

“我们的目标客群是希望来新加坡参加演唱会和现场活动、但觉得现有酒店房价太贵的年轻旅客，”Lim 说。

住客可以选择男宾专用、女宾专用或混合房间，并使用共用浴室。每张床被称为一个“pod”，配有隐私帘、灯、置物台、手机及其他设备充电点，以及用于挂衣服的挂钩。每位住客还会获配一个储物柜，用于存放行李和贵重物品。

自试营业以来，65 South Bridge Road 的 72 个床位在周末入住率接近 100%，平日约为 80%。TAP 表示，超过 90% 的住客为外国人，主要来自东南亚、中国和韩国。

Lim 表示，试行价为每晚新币50元。Gather House 于 9 月中旬全面开业后，房价预计将在每晚新币60元至新币65元之间。

TAP 在拥有 63 和 65 South Bridge Road 的合资公司中持有 10% 股权。其合作伙伴为 Apricot Capital（Super Group 饮料帝国背后 Teo 家族的家族办公室），以及 TAP 的非执行主席兼主要股东 Eric Low。

根据产权查询，位于牛车水和中央商业区边缘的 South Bridge Road 物业于 2024 年以未披露金额收购。

延伸阅读：The Assembly Place net profit climbs 80.7% on co-living expansion, looks ahead to 'robust' pipeline

陪伴会员走过不同人生阶段

TAP 的投资组合已大幅超越其最初的共居业务。

自 Lim 于 2019 年创办公司以来，TAP 已进入学生住宿、酒店和跨代共居领域，包括老年人住宿。它还与 TS Group 进军面向医护人员的宿舍式住房以及工人宿舍。

TAP 目前有 2,100 个房间/床位的项目储备，目标是在未来两年内投入运营。

不过，Lim 表示，TAP 超过 10,000 名会员中约 85% 年龄在 35 岁以下。约 95% 为外国国民。“我们希望会员在人生不同阶段都能与我们同行，”他说。

其学生住宿概念 Campus 于 2023 年 10 月在 Telok Kurau 开业，提供 426 个床位，目标群体为初级学院、理工学院和大学学生。

2024 年末，TAP 在国家水务机构 PUB 拥有的 Woodleigh Park 四栋黑白殖民时期洋房内推出 Stay，面向 13 至 15 岁学生。

2025 年 6 月，TAP 和 TS Group 随后在 Commune @ Henderson 推出跨代共居空间，该空间由前 Henderson Primary School 翻新并重新利用而成。合作方通过 Singapore Land Authority (SLA) 招标取得该场地。

同月，TAP 以 Social on Outram 进入酒店领域，这是一处位于 Outram Road 沿线、占据四层战前店屋的 26 间客房物业。

随后，位于 Jalan Besar 一带、拥有 26 间客房的 Social on Mayo 于 2025 年 10 月开业。Lim 表示，两处 Social 物业的房价约为每晚新币118元至新币180元。

不过，由于每处客房数均少于 100 间，两者仍属于精品酒店。Lim 的目标是最终实现更大规模运营。

2026 年 3 月，TAP 与合资伙伴 Apricot Capital 和 Low 共同以新币9,000万元收购了前 Lian Huat Building，这是一栋位于 163 Tras Street、楼高 11 层的永久产权商业物业。

TAP 在该合资公司中持有 10% 股权。“我们的策略是保持轻资产，”Lim 说。

URA 已原则批准将该建筑用途从商业改为酒店。Lim 计划将其改造成一间拥有 168 间客房、同样以 Social 为品牌的酒店。

“我们希望等到 [Tras Street 的] 资产准备就绪时，TAP 已经自然积累了一批游客追随者，他们会选择入住我们的酒店，因为这个品牌具有前瞻性，有一点前卫，而且非常有共鸣，”他说。

Phoenix Park 大力发展健康主题

TAP 迄今规模最大的项目是 Phoenix Park。今年 6 月，TAP 与 TS Group 旗下子公司 TS Home 在 SLA 招标中提交七份投标中的最高报价后，取得了 300 至 320 Tanglin Road 这个大型场地的总租约。

合作方提出的月租为新币404,888元，初始租期五年，并可选择续租四年。TAP 在该合资公司中持有 39% 股权。

他们计划把这个占地 610,000 平方英尺、包含 33 栋受保留殖民建筑的场地改造成 Phoenix Park Wellness Village。该项目被称为“新加坡最大的共居目的地”，将拥有超过 700 个房间/床位，并配套设有餐饮和零售门店的商业空间、社区空间、体育和健康设施。

学生住宿将占超过 700 个房间/床位的大多数，但也会有一些服务式公寓。房型组合可能涵盖开间至两房、三房和四房单位，并配有套内浴室。

合作方计划于 10 月接管该场地，并分阶段开放，第一阶段目标为 2027 年第一季度。

健康将是主要组成部分。Lim 正在与一家专注 Hyrox 的健身房运营商洽谈，并希望在场地内打造一条 500 米跑步环线。计划还包括一个运动恢复与健康中心，设有冰浴、热浴、桑拿和红外光疗。

他也在与 padel 和 pickleball 运营商讨论在 Phoenix Park 设置球场。

“我们正在整合自身以及合资伙伴积累的专业能力，打造一个有意义的共居大型健康村，”Lim 说。

围绕 AI 打造社区

不过，对 Lim 而言，实体设施只是价值主张的一部分。他同样重视策划项目，并围绕共同兴趣打造社区。

这种思路也推动了 TAP 进入以 AI 为重点的共居领域。今年 5 月，TAP 与新加坡历史最悠久的会馆之一 Char Yong (Dabu) Association 签署租赁协议。公司计划将位于 27 和 29 Lorong 22 Geylang 的两栋相邻建筑改造成其所称的“AI 驱动共居开发项目”。

Geylang 的该开发项目将包括 80 间共居房、一个配备工作空间的专属 AI Lab，以及一个社区中心。租期为 15 年，并可选择再续租五年。

Lim 设想 AI Lab 将成为一个生态系统，供企业家和一人公司 (OPCs) 协作并开发 AI 工具和咨询服务，帮助企业利用 AI 以小团队更高效地运营。

“我们已经有一批 AI 工程师和科学家与我们合作，举办社区之夜，并教我们的会员如何使用 AI 来帮助解决问题，”他说。“我希望吸引 AI 原生群体和 OPCs 成为这个生态系统的一部分。”

由于 Phoenix Park 很大程度上定位为学生住宿，Lim 预计 AI 社区之夜也会吸引来自那里的会员。

把 Social 带到海外

TAP 也在新加坡以外扩张，马来西亚和香港是其目标市场之一。

9 月，公司计划在吉隆坡 Bangsar 推出拥有 66 间客房的 Social。

Lim 预计，该酒店将受益于 TAP 对健康和健身社区日益增强的重视。吉隆坡计划于 12 月举办其首场 Hyrox 活动，而新加坡某个 Hyrox 社群的成员已经计划前往当地并入住 Social，他说。

酒店将设有一间配备 Hyrox 比赛级设备的健身房，以及一个包含冰浴和桑拿的 Hyrox 恢复中心。酒店还将提供健康早餐选择。

对 Lim 来说，这类概念最终都回到同一个塑造 TAP 扩张的问题：其以年轻人为主的客户群接下来想要什么？

甚至 TAP 的管理团队也接受了 Hyrox 训练。Lim 认为，深入现场并参与这些活动，帮助公司塑造出能与目标受众产生共鸣的品牌、活动和社区项目。

他承认，保持同步可能会令人疲惫。“我们的抱负始终是走在趋势前面，并与年轻人保持相关性，”他补充说。