Perennial Living at Parry Avenue: What We Know So Far
You've probably seen the headlines. A $260 million private assisted living development. Singapore's first. Opening in 2026.
But what does that actually mean for families looking at senior care options? We went through the publicly available information and the government tender documents to piece that together.
Why this matters
Until now, families looking for senior care in Singapore have had two main options. Nursing homes for those who need round-the-clock medical support. Or staying at home, perhaps with a helper, for as long as that's workable.
Assisted living — a middle ground where seniors live independently but with care services on standby — has largely been missing from the picture. The government's Community Care Apartments at Bukit Batok marked a first step. But there has been nothing on the private side.
Perennial Living at Parry Avenue is set to change that. It's a $260 million development by Perennial Holdings, built on a 60-year leasehold site that the company won through an MOH tender in June 2023. The site drew bids from three groups — Perennial Holdings ($71.99 million, winning bid), United Medicare Centre, and a consortium led by Evia Real Estate with Allium Healthcare. The assisted living units are expected to open by early 2026. The nursing home wing follows in Q2.
What's being built
The site at 28 Parry Avenue sits on about 12,900 sqm of land in the Rosyth Estate area, near Kovan MRT. It used to be a cluster of former school buildings. The development comprises:
- 200 assisted living apartments across multiple five-storey residential blocks
- A 100-bed nursing home in a separate five-storey geriatric care block
- A small restaurant (50 sqm) and shop (60 sqm) on-site
- A 1.5-hectare therapeutic park adjoining the development, open to the public
- One basement carpark
The total gross floor area is about 18,077 sqm. Under the government's planning conditions, at least 60% of that must go to assisted living use, and at least 20% to health and medical care. No strata subdivision is allowed — meaning units can't be sold individually. This is a leasing model. Residents pay monthly fees. They don't buy a unit.
That's a significant distinction. You're not purchasing property. You're paying for a place to live with care services bundled in.
The units
Assisted living apartments come in three sizes: studios (about 302 sq ft), one-bedroom units, and two-bedroom units (up to 593 sq ft). Each unit is self-contained with a bathroom and kitchenette. The government's tender conditions require an average internal area of at least 32 sqm (about 344 sq ft).
According to Perennial's website, the apartments include features like private lift access, remote-controlled curtains, fall detectors, motion-sensor lighting, facial recognition security, and video call tablets. There's a 24-hour care team on-site.
The nursing home wing offers one-bed and two-bed suites ranging from 215 to 376 sq ft. This is considerably larger than most nursing home wards in Singapore, where shared rooms of four to six beds are standard.
Residents must be at least 65 years old. The minimum stay for assisted living is three months.
What it costs
Perennial has published a Basic Occupancy Package starting from $8,900 to $17,000 per month. An initial batch of 40 units was offered at promotional rates of $8,000 to $13,600 per month.
To put that in context: a private single room in a nursing home in Singapore typically runs $5,000 to $6,500 per month. A shared ward in a VWO nursing home can cost $1,400 to $3,000 before subsidies.
Perennial Living sits firmly at the premium end. It is not a subsidised option. MOH subsidies for residential long-term care do not apply to private assisted living developments of this nature.
This wasn't a typical highest-bidder-wins land sale. MOH evaluated each bidder's care concept first — looking at suitability and innovation — before price even entered the picture. Only proposals that passed the quality gate moved to the price round. For families weighing this option, that's a meaningful distinction. The care model had to meet government standards before the developer could secure the site.
The care model
The development integrates Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Perennial Holdings operates eldercare facilities across 14 cities in China through its Renshoutang brand, managing over 23,000 beds. The Singapore project draws on that experience.
On-site services include a geriatric care centre with doctors and a multidisciplinary specialist panel (cardiologists, geriatricians, neurologists), a hydrotherapy pool, rehabilitation facilities, and a TCM centre of excellence in partnership with Tianjin Academy of TCM.
The government's tender conditions require Perennial to enter a Service Level Deed with MOH for the provision and delivery of services. This means the care model isn't entirely at the developer's discretion — there are regulatory standards it must meet.
One detail worth noting: the tender conditions also require the developer to build and maintain the adjoining Neighbourhood Park, and to complete it before the residential development can receive its Temporary Occupation Permit. The park has to be open to the public.
Things the public filings tell us
The URA Grant of Written Permission, dated August 2024, confirms the approved gross floor area breakdown: 7,113 sqm for the nursing home, 10,854 sqm for residential use, plus the small restaurant and shop. The planning permission lapses on 1 August 2026 if the development is not completed by then.
The Technical Conditions of Tender include several requirements that aren't widely discussed:
Asbestos remediation. The site contains former school buildings where asbestos was detected in some of the blocks. The developer must remove the asbestos at its own cost before any construction or renovation can begin.
The developer builds the access road. Vehicular access comes via a new 18.6m-wide cul-de-sac off Parry Avenue, designed and built at the developer's expense.
Universal design is mandatory. BCA's accessibility code applies. Internal corridors must be at least 1.8m wide — enough for two wheelchairs to pass each other. Level differences within the same floor must be avoided. Where they can't be, ramps are required.
No wall-like facades. The buildings must relate sensitively to the surrounding landed housing context and avoid a wall-like effect from any angle.
Shuttle bus encouraged. The tender encourages the developer to provide shuttle services to nearby transport nodes — and to extend this to the surrounding community.
How it compares to Community Care Apartments
The government's Community Care Apartments (CCAs) are the closest public-sector equivalent to assisted living. The pilot at Bukit Batok launched in 2021, with more projects at Queensway, Chai Chee, Merpati, and Fernvale in the pipeline.
| Perennial Living | Community Care Apartments | |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | Private (Perennial Holdings) | Government (HDB + MOH) |
| Tenure | Lease (monthly fees) | Purchase (15 to 35-year lease) |
| Cost | $8,900 - $17,000/month | $55,000 - $120,000 flat + ~$125/month basic service |
| Unit size | 302 - 593 sq ft | ~344 sq ft |
| Income ceiling | N/A | Monthly household income up to $14,000 |
| Care level | On-site doctors, nursing, rehabilitation, TCM | 24-hour emergency monitoring, basic health checks |
| Medical | Geriatric care centre, specialist panel | Referral to polyclinics and hospitals |
| Dining | All-day restaurant with in-house chefs | Self-catering or optional meal service ($5-$7/meal) |
| Eligibility | Age 65+, min 3-month stay | Age 65+, Singapore Citizen |
| Subsidies | Not available | Government subsidised |
The price gap is substantial. A family paying $10,000 per month at Perennial Living would spend $120,000 a year. A CCA flat with a 25-year lease might cost around $80,000 upfront, plus about $1,500 a year for the basic service package.
These serve fundamentally different segments. CCAs are designed for seniors who can live largely independently with light monitoring. Perennial Living targets families who want comprehensive on-site care — and can afford it.
What to watch for
As the pioneer private assisted living operator in Singapore, Perennial Living has no local precedent to follow. A few things are worth tracking as it opens:
Occupancy take-up. At $8,900 to $17,000 a month, the target market is narrow. How quickly the 200 units fill up will signal whether there's genuine demand at this price point — or whether the market needs time to adjust.
Early operational quality. Any new facility of this scale will face teething issues — staffing workflows, care coordination across the assisted living and nursing home wings, food service logistics, resident feedback loops. How quickly the operator identifies and resolves these early friction points will say a lot about the management team behind it.
Regulatory precedent. This is the first time MOH has tendered a site specifically for private assisted living. How the Service Level Deed plays out — and whether the government releases more sites — will shape the future of senior housing in Singapore.
The 60-year lease question. The site is on a 60-year leasehold from the government. That's a long runway, but it does mean this is not a permanent institution. At some point, the lease expires and the land reverts to the state.
Our take
Perennial Living is a premium option aimed at a specific slice of the market. For families who can afford it and want an alternative to nursing homes or home-based care, it offers something that didn't previously exist in Singapore.
For most families, the practical question is still the same: what are the options in my budget, and which one gives my parent the best quality of life? If that's where you are, the assisted living model is worth understanding — even if this particular development isn't within reach.
Browse assisted living options on KinCare to compare what's available across Singapore.
Sources: MOH Tender Award, URA Grant of Written Permission (P280923-15B5-Z000), Technical Conditions of Tender (September 2022), Perennial Living website, EdgeProp, HDB Community Care Apartments
