Supporting the Housing Needs of Seniors – Second Community Care Apartments Pilot in Queenstown
The second pilot signals demand for assisted-living public housing and could broaden downsizing options for seniors seeking independent ageing with scalable care services.
HDB announced about 200 Community Care Apartments in Queenstown after Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok achieved 4.2 applicants per unit and 91% bookings.
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At MND’s Committee of Supply debate 2022, Minister of State for National Development, Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, announced the upcoming launch of the second Community Care Apartments (CCAs) pilot in Queenstown later this year, as part of our efforts to provide more housing options to support seniors to age independently.
Enabling More Seniors to Age Independently within the Community
Second Community Care Apartment Pilot to be Launched in Health District @ Queenstown
To support more seniors to age independently in their silver years within the community, HDB will be launching the second Community Care Apartments (CCAs) pilot later this year in Queenstown. The project will be situated within the Health District @ Queenstown[1], where HDB, NUS, healthcare partners like NUHS and local grassroots organisations collaborate to pilot new strategies to create a built environment that promotes a healthy lifestyle and active and healthy ageing. Alexandra Hospital is also located in Queenstown, and this will allow medical and healthcare services to be seamlessly incorporated into the care model for residents. About 200 CCA units will be offered in the project, along with other flat types. There will be common facilities such as roof gardens, fitness stations and community living rooms, to promote social interactions between all residents. More specific site details will be provided in due course.
The CCA is a public housing assisted living concept jointly developed by HDB, MND and MOH, to expand the continuum of residential options for seniors. It integrates senior-friendly housing with care services that can be scaled according to individual care needs, with the aim of better supporting seniors to age in place independently.
Beyond the senior-friendly flat features and customisable care services, there will also be communal spaces on each floor for residents to build meaningful social networks and stay engaged with the community. Residents can use these furnished spaces as extensions of their own living rooms to catch up with their neighbours, share meals, or participate in programmes specially curated by the community manager.
The first CCA project, Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok, launched in February 2021, saw an application rate of 4.2 applicants per unit. To date, 91% (154 units) of the 169 flats offered have been booked.
[1] The Health District @ Queenstown is a collaborative effort by HDB, the National University Health System (NUHS) and the National University of Singapore (NUS), together with multiple stakeholders from the public, private and people sectors.