On 17 April, REDAS members visited Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok for an in-depth look at Singapore’s pioneering Community Care Apartment (CCA) model. The visit featured an engaging session with hosts, from Vanguard Healthcare and HDB, who walked members through the vision, operations, and future roadmap of this landmark development.
The Demographic Context
For developers and real estate professionals, understanding the CCA model begins with understanding the demographic landscape it responds to. The proportion of Singapore citizens aged 65 and above has risen from 13.1% in 2015 to 20.7% in 2025, and is forecast to reach 23.9% by 2030.
The number of seniors living alone is projected to climb to 92,000 by 2030, and more than half of older Singaporeans reported feeling lonely as far back as 2015, with loneliness linked to poorer health, cognitive decline, and depression. These trends are shaping how Singapore plans, designs, and builds for an ageing population, with implications that extend well beyond the public housing sector.
What is a Community Care Apartment, and How Does it Work?
The CCA is a joint offering by MND, MOH, and HDB that integrates senior-friendly housing with care services scaled according to care needs, alongside social activities to support seniors in ageing independently within the community. It sits between conventional public housing and assisted living, designed for seniors who value independence but benefit from structured support. It is not intended for those with high medical or nursing care needs.
Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok comprises 169 units integrated with a hawker centre, community garden, fitness station, and an activity centre. Units are available to seniors aged 65 and above on lease tenures ranging from 15 to 35 years, with a monthly service fee covering 24/7 emergency monitoring, basic health checks, simple home maintenance, and assistance with Activities of Daily Living. Vanguard Assisted Living serves as the service provider delivering social services and facilitating care referrals through a community-based care model.
Beyond public agencies, Vanguard also works with caregivers, nearby schools, grassroots organisations, and social service agencies to strengthen community-based care for elderly residents. Ongoing research partnerships with the National University of Singapore, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority continue to inform the model’s development.
Design and Community
Each unit at Harmony Village is a 32 sqm fully furnished studio with an open-concept layout and movable partitions. Senior-friendly design features include emergency call buttons, slip-resistant flooring, wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, and digital locks. Each level features shared communal spaces including club rooms, karaoke rooms, and mahjong rooms converted from bomb shelters.
The design draws on the spirit of a kampung, with a deliberate focus on fostering social interaction and intergenerational activities among residents. Care providers actively welcome residents into a daily social routine, building the trust and familiarity that makes genuine ageing-in-place possible.
The CCA Pipeline
Singapore has to date launched 669 CCA units across four projects. Further projects in Toa Payoh are in the pipeline, with the government more by 2030, supported by Active Ageing Centres planned across estates island-wide.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has also highlighted the government’s intention to apply learnings from the CCA model to the wider neighbourhood, supporting seniors where they already live.
Closing Reflections
The visit gave REDAS members a grounded understanding of how the CCA model functions in practice, from policy intent to day-to-day operations. As Singapore continues to scale this model, it offers useful reference points for how housing design, care integration, and community programming can work together to support an ageing population.
“The success of Harmony Village reminds us that building communities is as, if not more, important than building homes. A big thank you to our hosts from Vanguard Healthcare and HDB for sharing their insights to help support Singapore’s vision for ageing in place.”
