Building A New Home

It is necessary because with urbanisation and the need to maximise land use, the Home is required to hand back to the Government in 2021 about two-thirds of the land it is presently occupying.

The Home has successfully secured a fresh 30-year land lease from January 2016 from the Government but this is on a smaller land area of 3,300 sqm (about one-third of its present land area) at its present site at 69 Wan Tho Avenue. It therefore has to build a new Home on this smaller plot to accommodate its elderly Residents.

November 2018.

March 2021.

Due to the measures against COVID-19, construction work has been suspended since 7 April 2020, the start date of the Circuit Breaker period.  With the easing of some of these measures by the Government, work has resumed in September 2020. 
As of May 2021, building work is now done, and we are in the process of attaining the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP).

The site of the new Home will be on about one third of the existing land area.

During the construction period, the Home will still be able to continue operations on the other two thirds of the land area rented from the Government.  Once the new building has been completed, the land and buildings on this two third land area will be handed back to the Government.

The Home and the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) jointly organised a two-stage Architectural Design Competition between April and July 2016.

The Design Competition was open to all SIA Fellow and Corporate Member Firms.

Fifty-two architectural firms submitted their designs under Stage One of the Competition. From these, seven entries were shortlisted by the Judging Panel for Stage Two of the Competition. The seven shortlisted firms further developed their designs and presented them to the Judging Panel, which then selected one winning entry in July 2016.

To ensure fair play, the participating firms submitted their designs bearing only an Identification Number, thus ensuring anonymity of entry when their designs were judged.

The Judging Panel comprised :

• 1) Mr Theodore Chan, Immediate Past President of SIA and Panel Chairman;
• 2) Ms Rita Soh, Director of RDC Architects Pte Ltd;
• 3) Dr Wong Sweet Fun, Deputy Chairperson, Medical Board of Yishun Community Hospital
• 4) Mr Woon Wee Yim, Chairman of St. John’s Home for Elderly Persons
• 5) Mr Andrew Lioe, Vice-Chairman of St. John’s Home for Elderly Persons

Besides having better facilities for our elderly Residents, the new Home will be able to accommodate 144 elderly persons.

$15 million. This excludes the furniture and fittings that will be required before the Home is operationally ready.

As at Jan 2021, we depend on the community to raise the remaining $2.5 million.