Josh Hu: Build-to-suit co-living the next growth venture for Aw & Sons

After graduating from university, Josh Hu had envisioned a career in the media industry. He was working as a photographer at luxury lifestyle magazine Revolution for barely a year when his grandfather called and asked him to join the family business, Aw & Sons Group, and help his father.

That was 21 years ago. “I’m the eldest grandson,” says Hu, now 44 and managing director of Aw & Sons Capital.

Hu's grandfather, Aw Kim Chen ("Hu" is the pinyin version of "Aw"), founded the company in 1971 as a rubber-trading enterprise. He was the patriarch of the firm, which has since evolved into an established real estate investment and development group. Aw & Sons Capital, one arm of the business, is headed by Aw Kim Chen's eldest son, Aw Chye Wee, together with Hu. Its sister company, Kimen Group, is headed by Hu's two younger uncles: second son Aw Chye Huat oversees investments, while youngest son Arthur Aw oversees real estate development.

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Hu’s latest project, Mber Co-Living & Serviced Apartments — a 235-room, purpose-built co-living and serviced residence development at Teck Chye Terrace in Serangoon — is Aw & Sons Capital’s most ambitious project to date.

Mber opened sometime in early June, and based on its phased release, occupancy has ramped up to 80%. Hu is targeting to hit 100% occupancy before the end of the year. The property has a prominent frontage along Boundary Road and Upper Serangoon Road.

It is a redevelopment of a row of 15 shophouses which were acquired in two rounds: five in 2015 ($14.13 million), then 10 more in 2020 ($39 million). The site was then amalgamated with the adjacent state land.

Hu had bet on redeveloping the site into a hybrid co-living and serviced apartment project as “there is no comparable co-living product in the north-east area”, he says. “This is a very interesting part of Singapore.”

Capitalising on heritage, new growth areas

The site was formerly occupied by the Lim Tua Tow Market for three decades from the 1960s to 1990s before it was redeveloped into the shophouses. “We like the charm of heritage shophouses, but these are non-conservation properties, so we could redevelop them, but we also want to pay homage to the previous Lim Tua Tow Market,” he adds.

Hence, he worked closely with local architectural firm Formwerkz Architects on the exterior — “to blend heritage with modernity”. Meanwhile, the interiors were designed by Afternaut Group, which has experience in designing heritage projects such as shophouses and in placemaking.

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“We saw it as a very attractive opportunity,” says Hu.

Apart from the heritage, Hu says the other main draw was the location in Serangoon, with a handful of international schools within a 2km radius, including Australian International School, North London Collegiate School, Stamford American School, Toppers International School and Wise Oaks International.

He sees opportunities in tapping demand from expatriates working in the three major employment clusters situated within a 10- to 20-minute drive from Mber — Punggol Digital District, Seletar Aerospace and Paya Lebar Central, which has developed into a decentralised cybersecurity and ops-tech node.

The Serangoon MRT Interchange Station (North-East and Circle lines) and bus interchange are also within a 10-minute walk from Mber.

Build-to-suit co-living space

Billed as “the first build-to-suit” (BTS) co-living space, Mber has 78 co-dwelling units and 47 serviced apartments. The serviced apartments are a mix of three- and four-bedroom units, ranging from 920 to 1,340 sq ft. This brings the total room count in the development to 235.

Hu says it’s also “an integrated development”, offering a gym featuring the latest equipment used by those training for Hyrox; an outdoor fitness area; and 14 communal spaces, including co-working, dining, a private library, games and yoga.

The co-living units are designed as individual bedrooms with wardrobe space and en suite bathrooms. They are centred around the communal spaces, which are equipped with a living area, dining and a fully equipped kitchen. There is also a communal laundry area in the basement.

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On the first level are five F&B units, all fully leased, each with a different concept: a coffee place, a Thai wonton mee outlet, a Korean fusion café, a Japanese bento takeaway, and a Chinese grill and hotpot restaurant. The operators are currently renovating their units, which are expected to open sometime between August and September.

Given its location, the F&B outlets also serve the wider community in the neighbourhood. In fact, Mber has seen walk-ins, generally from residents in the area enquiring if they can book rooms for family or friends visiting from abroad.

There are also those looking at wellness-focused staycations, mainly to use the gym and fitness facilities. “Since the pandemic, there has been a lot of focus on wellness,” says Hu.

Beyond adaptive reuse, conversion play

According to Josh Rose-Nokes, head of living research, Asia Pacific, at Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), in a June commentary, Singapore is at the more mature end of the co-living spectrum in Asia Pacific.

There are around 10,000 professionally managed operational co-living rooms in the city-state, estimates C&W. The figure is equivalent to about 6% of the combined private non-landed and HDB rental stock of roughly 190,000 units as at the end of 2025.

“If the sector is to make a more meaningful contribution to the housing mix, adaptive reuse and conversions cannot be the whole story,” says Rose-Nokes.

Institutional capital will back mainly scalable platforms led by operators that can deliver strong occupancy, sustainable growth, affordability, flexibility and positive resident outcomes. “If these conditions are met, co-living could evolve from a niche segment into a mainstream component of Singapore’s housing ecosystem,” notes Rose-Nokes. “Without them, the sector risks remaining constrained by the finite pool of assets available for conversion.”

More than just rooms for lease

For Hu of Aw & Sons, that means more opportunities to expand his BTS concept for Mber co-living developments. “Customers are becoming more discerning when selecting co-living spaces,” he says. “That’s why differentiation is important. As a BTS co-living development, it’s more design- and hospitality-led, with a focus on the quality of the living space.”

He is of the opinion that the current co-living operators are “slicing the rooms far too small”, which is not sustainable. “No point going for room count on a valuation basis,” he argues. “At some point, the performance of the property has to be able to catch up as well.”

The group is also open to refurbishment of conservation properties. However, the principles of BTS remain, he emphasises.

According to Hu, the name Mber is shortened from the word ”member”. “We wanted something catchy that resonates with youths,” he says. By extension, he coined the names Mber Club, for residents’ social programmes and workshops, and Gymber, for the gym and fitness centre.

“Our belief is that co-living is not just about rooms for lease,” says Hu. “It has to be conceptualised as part of a community.”

Back to the city

With Mber having established a foothold in the north-eastern suburbs, Hu wants to bring the brand “back to the city”. “Ultimately, it has to be accessible, and we want to position it as a premium brand,” he says.

Earlier in July, Aw & Sons acquired a pair of freehold four-storey conservation shophouses at 136 and 138 Neil Road in Tanjong Pagar for $40.88 million. The shophouses currently house the German cultural and language institution, Goethe-Institut, which has been there since 2015.

While still in an exploratory phase, Hu says his eventual plan is to house other upcoming concepts, such as wellness, that complement his living concept. “We want to have a holistic offering under the Mber umbrella,” he adds.

Hu wants Mber to be a premium hospitality brand in the co-living sector. “Our mantra is: we are not a cookie-cutter developer,” he adds.

He is also looking at development opportunities in the Government Land Sales Programme.

Aw & Sons’ first foray into hospitality was the boutique Hotel Soloha, which spans three adjoining conservation shophouses. It is a refurbishment of the former Chinatown Hotel on Teck Lim Road — just off Keong Saik Road in Chinatown — which Aw & Sons acquired jointly with Kimen Group’s Aw Kim Cheng Realty in 2017 for $31 million.

“We built Hotel Soloha from scratch, after restoring the shophouses,” says Hu. “It was a very steep learning curve.” The 45-room hotel made its debut in 2019. Three years later, in May 2022, it was sold to seasoned property investor Lim Chin Huat for $53.38 million, which translates to $1.19 million per key.

At Mber, Hu is determined to remain both owner and operator. “For now, we would rather stay asset-heavy instead of asset-light,” he says. “We are not chasing a quick shareholders’ exit.”