URA tender draws 4 bids for assisted living development at Parry Avenue

Mar 22, 2023



THE state tender for a pilot private assisted living development at Parry Avenue has drawn muted results, with just four bidders.

One was submitted by a consortium consisting of Evia Real Estate, Allium Healthcare, Yuan Ching Development and YK Realty (which is linked to logistics and real estate tycoon Tan Yeow Khoon).

Two tenders came from Pre 20, a subsidiary of Perennial Holdings, and another from United Medicare Development, an operator of private nursing homes.

The bids will be evaluated under the concept and price revenue tender approach.

Under this approach, tenderers are required to submit their concept proposals and tender prices separately. Concept proposals will first be evaluated by a committee chaired by the Ministry of Health (MOH), before being shortlisted based on suitability and innovation of the proposed model of care, as well as the quality of the proposed care programmes and services.

The site will then be awarded to the shortlisted tender with the highest bid price. Details will be released at a later date, after all tenders have been evaluated.

Lam Chern Woon, head of research and consulting at Edmund Tie, said the “muted participation” for tender was due to the development’s care component.

The site spans 12,912.1 square metres with a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 18,077 sq m. At least 20 per cent of its maximum permissible GFA must be allocated to health and medical use, including 100 mandatory nursing home beds, the Urban Redevelopment Authority and MOH said in an earlier media release.

At least 60 per cent of the maximum GFA must also be used for assisted living, including units for such purposes and communal spaces. Land and strata subdivision are not allowed.

“Given (these prohibitions), the tender presents the scope for the successful tenderer to operate a residential care business rather than a more traditional development model of selling off sub-titles to residents and providing ancillary care services,” he said.

ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak noted that demand for the development could primarily come from elderly owners of nearby residential properties, most of which are landed housing estates.

“These elderly owners could be ‘empty nesters’ when their adult children move out to their own homes,” he said.

“Those seniors could opt to sell or rent out their existing properties to fund their retirement needs. They could (also) move to the private assisted living development at Parry Avenue.”

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/pro...t-parry-avenue