# What The Toa Payoh and Hougang Site Tenders Mean For Eldercare - **Source:** Stacked Homes - **Published:** 2026-09-05T10:22:17.000Z - **Author:** Hailey Khoo - **Original:** https://stackedhomes.com/two-state-owned-properties-toa-payoh-hougang-become-new-eldercare-facilities-only-up-to-9-years/ - **Topics:** HDB & Public Housing, Private Residential, New Launches ## Featured rationale The tenders signal stronger demand for eldercare capacity, but short guaranteed lease periods may constrain operator investment and potentially limit sustainable supply growth. ## AI summary SLA launched tenders for 1 Thomson Lane and 95 Tampines Road, offering eldercare-compatible sites with maximum nine-year tenancies amid plans for 31,000 nursing-home beds by 2030. ## Original article Public discussion around residential options for elderly Singaporeans surfaced amid public housing options for seniors like Community Care Apartments, as well as private development efforts to meet the growing need for assisted living facilities. It’s a pressing issue as one in five Singaporeans are now aged 65 or older, with the trend set to intensify as that figure reaches one in four by 2030, according to estimates by the Ministry of Health (MOH). Steps have been taken to increase nursing home capacity in Singapore from over 20,000 beds today to 31,000 by 2030, with more than ten new nursing homes housing 4,300 beds completed since 2020. More often than not, these new nursing homes are repurposed facilities from existing State-owned properties. For example, the former Yishun Primary School was retrofitted and converted into a nursing home operated by All Saints Home. Now, two more State-owned properties might find themselves repositioned as accommodation facilities for the elderly. The Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the custodian of State land and properties, has launched a public tender for a site at 1 Thomson Lane in Toa Payoh, and a cluster of vacant buildings at 95 Tampines Road in Hougang. The Thomson Lane site spans 97,696 sq ft and is offered for nursing home use only, this tender is being conducted in an electronic Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise that closes on Sept 15. Meanwhile, the Hougang property is far smaller at 19,724 sq ft and lists an active ageing facility as one of seven uses SLA will consider. The lease of this cluster of empty former Customs buildings will be evaluated via a Price-Quality tender that closes on Oct 21. We examine what each of the sites offers, an overview of the terms of the tender, and how long the future facility is planned to last. Thomson Lane This is not an empty plot of land that SLA has launched. The site has housed the Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home since 1984. Located in Toa Payoh West, and close to the upcoming Caldecott estate and Mount Pleasant Road, this 97,696 sq ft site is at the edge of some of the most intense development plans taking shape in this part of Singapore. The ground work for future residential developments has already been laid, with the opening of new MRT stations like Mount Pleasant on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), Bukit Brown station on the Circle Line (CCL), and Caldecott Interchange intersecting both lines. Mount Pleasant station will only begin operations when the HDB estate in that area is complete. According to the land information by SLA, the future nursing home site has a maximum gross floor area of 20,050 sq ft. The successful tender will lease the site on an initial term of three years, with two possible renewals of three years each. 1 Thomson Lane sits in the Core Central Region among prime residential housing. Map: URA The future nursing home site is also next to Sky@Eleven condo, one of the most recognisable condominiums along this part of Thomson Road. Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home also has another premise along Silat Avenue, which is next to another recognisable condo – Avenue South Residence. The government’s decision to bring in an operator to run the nursing home arguably makes more sense than selling the site since the lease conditions can decide how the property is used, and the state keeps a valuable plot of land. Tampines Road Meanwhile, SLA has launched a Price-Quality tender for a cluster of vacant buildings 95 Tampines Road. Despite its address on Tampines Road name, the site is actually in the Hougang planning area in District 19. It is close to Kovan MRT station on the North East Line, and is flanked by two recognisable condos – The Stars of Kovan and The Tembusu. The properties were the former Tampines Customs Quarters, near the junction with Upper Serangoon Road, and the site consists of a four-storey building and five single-storey wooden houses. Back then, the five wooden houses were used to store gunny bags of rice during the war before the Customs station took them over. After operations ceased in the 1970s, the buildings served as a religious school in the 1990s, then a kindergarten followed by a student hostel in the 2000s. The site spans 19,724 sq ft with a maximum allowable built up area of 11,792 sq ft, making it about a fifth the size of the Thomson Lane plot. But this tenancy is offered for an initial five years, after which the tenant may ask for a further four years at the Government’s discretion, with the first three months rent-free. While conservation guidelines do not apply to the site, the bidder must submit plans for any alteration work showing how the original architectural features will be kept, and their experience retrofitting conserved and heritage properties will also be taken into account. All pictures by SLA All pictures by SLA With the dual-approach tender, this means that each bid is evaluated based on what the operator plans to do with the property on top of the rent it offers, so the highest bid does not automatically win. The list of indicative uses for this site include: an active ageing facility a commercial school indoor sports studio meditation centre serviced apartments spa and wellness facilities student hostel So, while an active ageing facility is the first on that list, it is not necessarily the one that will be chosen. If retail and F&B uses are approved, it will be capped at 1,768.85 sq ft, or exactly 15% of the estimated GFA. Why an eldercare concept could win the Hougang site If an eldercare operator does step up and bids for this site, it would be going up against stiff competition from serviced apartment and student hostel operators, who have been relatively starved of development and repositioning opportunities to increase the stock of these accommodation options in Singapore. It is unlikely that an eldercare operator will put in the strongest offer based on bid rent alone. But under the Price-Quality Method set out in the tender documents, price is worth 40 of the 100 points and quality the remaining 60 score. This means that the proposal is scored on how creative the concept is and how well it fits the surrounding neighbourhood, with rejuvenation, green initiatives and maintenance plans making up the rest of the quality factor. 95 Tampines Road sits in the Hougang planning area and is much smaller in scale compared to the Thomson Lane site. Map: URA Under the heading of rejuvenation and vibrancy, SLA names active ageing, preventive healthcare and community bonding as examples of the programming it wants to see. From our perspective, we interpret this to mean that it hopes to see more eldercare proposals and bids compared to other land use offers. In addition, NEA has attached a condition in the same direction, requiring any active ageing facility at the site to put in place a healthcare waste management system that separates biohazardous waste, used needles and cytotoxic drugs at source. Nine years is the tenancy ceiling at both sites The three plus three plus three at Thomson Lane and five plus four at Tampines Road both have a term limit of nine years. And in both cases, the renewal is at SLA’s sole discretion. However, this also means that most of the capital expenditure spent by the tenant will have to be removed, even if an extension is not secured. For a nursing home or an active ageing centre, that is a hard basis on which to plan. In short: an operator is being asked to fit out a building for frail users and accept that the arrangement may end after five years. With no existing parking space and LTA requiring all pick-up and drop-off to happen within the grounds instead of the main road, any use that moves people with limited mobility is an important consideration for the tenderer. These tenancy limitations come despite calls for more nursing home and eldercare facilities in Singapore. For anyone working out care arrangements for a parent, the options in Singapore range from light support at home to full-time nursing care, the kind that Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home was built to cater. The lightest are Active Ageing Centres, and there are now over 230 island-wide, putting eight in 10 seniors within reach of one. These are drop-in centres for exercise, meals and social activities rather than places to live, and most sessions are free. If the Hougang site goes to an eldercare operator, this might be the kind of centre it would become. Next are the services MOH groups under intermediate and long-term care, which cover day care, community rehabilitation and day hospice at a centre, plus home visits ranging from nursing to Meals on Wheels. After that comes housing built for ageing at home, where HDB’s Community Care Apartments pair a senior-friendly flat with a compulsory Basic Service Package. The cost of that package has been a talking point of late, with the first project quoting about $50 a month against the roughly $180 residents have more recently reported paying. Eligibility was also widened last year when the qualifying age was lowered to 55. Above that is private assisted living, and Perennial Living is an example of that. The relatively new concept combines 200 assisted-living apartments with a 100-bed nursing suite and a rehabilitation centre on one site, setting families back about $8,000 a month. Nursing homes are the heaviest option, for residents who need help through the day and nursing care around the clock. That is likely the type of centre Thomson Lane’s scale would be suitable for. Some vital pieces of information are unknown So far, SLA has not published any guidelines on rent for these two sites, so there is no way to say what either site would cost an operator. We also cannot say for sure if the Hougang property ends up as an eldercare facility. For operators, committing that much capital against three or five guaranteed years is a hard sum to make work, and an awkward footing for senior care centres that are meant to last. The EOI for 1 Thomson Lane closes on 15 September, and SLA has reserved the right to close it earlier if enough interest comes in. The tender for 95 Tampines Road closes on 21 October. ## Chinese translation > Translation model: grok_cli ### 大巴窑与后港地段招标对乐龄护理意味着什么 大巴窑与后港两处前国有产业正开放招租，拟作乐龄护理用途；新加坡土地管理局正致力于将护理院床位扩至2030年的31,000张。 围绕新加坡乐龄人士居住选择的公众讨论升温，背景既有面向年长者的公共住房方案，例如社区护理公寓（Community Care Apartments），也有私营开发商为满足辅助生活设施日益增长需求所做的努力。 这是一个紧迫问题，因为目前每五名新加坡人中就有一人年满65岁或以上，而据卫生部（MOH）估计，到2030年这一比例将升至每四人中有一人，趋势还将进一步加剧。 当局已采取措施，把新加坡护理院床位从目前逾20,000张增至2030年的31,000张；自2020年以来，已有超过十家新护理院落成，提供4,300张床位。 这些新护理院往往由现有国有产业改造而成。例如，前义顺小学经过翻新改造，成为由诸圣之家（All Saints Home）营运的护理院。 如今，又有两处国有产业可能被重新定位为乐龄住宿设施。作为国有土地与产业保管机构的新加坡土地管理局（SLA），已就大巴窑汤申巷1号地段，以及后港淡宾尼路95号一簇空置建筑物公开招标。 汤申巷地段占地97,696平方英尺，仅开放作护理院用途，此次招标以电子意向征询（EOI）方式进行，截止日期为9月15日。 后港产业则小得多，仅19,724平方英尺，活跃乐龄设施是SLA将考虑的七种用途之一。这簇空置的前关税局建筑物租约，将通过价格—素质招标评估，截止日期为10月21日。 我们将检视各地段的条件、招标条款概览，以及未来设施计划营运多久。 汤申巷 SLA此次推出的并非空地。该地段自1984年起便是李亚妹安老院（Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home）所在地。 地段位于大巴窑西，靠近即将推出的加利谷组屋区和Mount Pleasant路，这块97,696平方英尺的地段，正处新加坡这一带最密集发展计划的边缘。 未来住宅发展的基础已经铺开，汤申-东海岸线（TEL）的Mount Pleasant站、环线（CCL）的武吉布朗站，以及两条线路交会的加利谷转换站等新地铁站已经开通。Mount Pleasant站要等到该区组屋建成后才会开始营运。 根据SLA的土地资料，未来护理院地段的最高总楼面面积为20,050平方英尺。中标者将以三年初始租期承租该地段，并可两次续租，每次三年。 汤申巷1号位于核心中央区，周围是优质住宅。地图：URA 未来护理院地段也紧邻Sky@Eleven公寓，这是汤申路这一带最广为人知的共管公寓之一。李亚妹安老院在Silat Avenue另有院址，旁边同样是知名共管公寓——Avenue South Residence。 政府决定引入运营商来经营护理院，可以说比出售该地段更合理，因为租约条件可以决定产业如何使用，而国家仍保有这块宝贵土地。 淡宾尼路 与此同时，SLA已就淡宾尼路95号一簇空置建筑物展开价格—素质招标。尽管地址写着淡宾尼路，该地段实际位于第19区的后港规划区。它靠近东北线的高文地铁站，两侧是两座知名共管公寓——The Stars of Kovan和The Tembusu。 这些产业原为淡宾尼关税局宿舍，靠近与上实龙岗路的交界处，地段上有一栋四层楼建筑和五栋单层木屋。 当年，这五栋木屋在战争期间用来存放麻袋装的米，后来由关税检查站接管。1970年代停止运作后，这些建筑物在1990年代曾用作宗教学校，随后是幼儿园，2000年代又改作学生宿舍。 地段占地19,724平方英尺，最高允许建筑面积为11,792平方英尺，规模约为汤申巷地段的五分之一。但这份租约初始期限为五年，其后租户可申请再续四年，由政府酌情决定，前三个月免租。 虽然该地段不适用保育准则，但投标者必须提交任何改建工程的方案，说明如何保留原有建筑特色，其翻新保育及遗产建筑的经验也将被纳入考量。 所有图片由SLA提供 所有图片由SLA提供 在这种双轨招标下，每份标书除了所出租金，还会根据运营商计划如何使用该产业来评估，因此出价最高者并不自动中标。 该地段的指示性用途包括： 活跃乐龄设施 商业学校 室内运动工作室 冥想中心 服务公寓 水疗与健康设施 学生宿舍 因此，尽管活跃乐龄设施列在清单首位，却未必就是最终获选的用途。若零售和餐饮用途获批，面积上限为1,768.85平方英尺，正好是预估总楼面面积（GFA）的15%。 为何乐龄护理概念可能拿下后港地段 若真有乐龄护理运营商出手竞标此地，将面对服务公寓和学生宿舍运营商的激烈竞争；后两者在新加坡相对缺乏开发和重新定位的机会，难以增加这类住宿供应。 仅凭投标租金，乐龄护理运营商不太可能给出最强报价。 但根据招标文件列明的价格—素质法，价格占100分中的40分，素质占其余60分。这意味着方案会就概念的创意程度及其与周边社区的契合度评分，活化、绿色举措和维护计划则构成素质因素的其余部分。 淡宾尼路95号位于后港规划区，规模远小于汤申巷地段。地图：URA 在“活化与活力”一项下，SLA点名活跃乐龄、预防保健和社区联结，作为希望看到的活动规划例子。在我们看来，这意味着它更希望看到乐龄护理方案和投标，而非其他土地用途报价。 此外，国家环境局（NEA）附加了一项同一方向的条件，要求该地段的任何活跃乐龄设施建立医疗废物管理系统，从源头将生物危害废物、用过的针头和细胞毒性药物分类。 两处地段租期上限均为九年 汤申巷的三年加三年加三年，与淡宾尼路的五年加四年，租期上限都是九年。而且两处续租均由SLA全权酌情决定。 然而，这也意味着，即便未能获得延期，租户投入的大部分资本开支日后也必须拆除。对护理院或活跃乐龄中心而言，这是很难据以规划的基础。 简而言之：运营商被要求为一群体弱使用者装修一栋建筑，并接受这一安排可能在五年后结束。 地段现无停车位，且陆路交通管理局（LTA）要求所有接送必须在场地内完成、不得占用主路，因此任何需要运送行动不便人士的用途，都是投标者必须认真考虑的因素。 尽管新加坡一再呼吁增加护理院和乐龄护理设施，这些租约限制依然存在。对任何正在为父母安排护理的人来说，新加坡的选择从居家轻度支援，到全日护理院照护不等，后者正是李亚妹安老院当初建造所要满足的需求。 最轻度的是活跃乐龄中心，目前全岛已有逾230个，使每10名乐龄人士中有8人能够就近使用。 这些是供运动、用餐和社交活动的即到即用中心，而非居住场所，大部分课程免费。若后港地段落入乐龄护理运营商之手，有可能成为这类中心。 再上一层是卫生部归入中期与长期护理的服务，涵盖中心内的日间护理、社区复健和日间安宁疗护，以及从护理到送餐上门（Meals on Wheels）不等的上门服务。再之上是为在家安老而建的住房，建屋局（HDB）的社区护理公寓把乐龄友善单位与强制性的基本服务配套结合在一起。 该配套的费用近来成为讨论焦点：首个项目报价约为每月新币50元，而住户近期反映实际支付约新币180元。去年合格年龄降至55岁后，申请资格也已放宽。 再上一层是私营辅助生活，Perennial Living便是一例。这一相对较新的概念，在同一地段结合200个辅助生活公寓、100张床位的护理套房和复健中心，家庭每月花费约新币8,000元。 护理院是最重度的选择，面向白天需要协助、并需全天候护理的住户。以汤申巷的规模，很可能适合这类中心。 一些关键信息仍未知 迄今为止，SLA尚未公布这两处地段的租金指引，因此无法判断运营商承租任一地段的成本。我们也无法确定后港产业最终会否成为乐龄护理设施。 对运营商而言，在仅获保证三年或五年的前提下投入如此多资本，这笔账很难算得过来，对于本应长期营运的乐龄护理中心来说，立足点也颇为尴尬。 汤申巷1号的意向征询于9月15日截止，若兴趣足够，SLA保留提前截止的权利。淡宾尼路95号的招标于10月21日截止。