Singapore shophouse offers assisted living with community
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Mariel Chee and Bennett Lee founded Camino House in Singapore, an assisted-living facility located within a traditional shophouse, a building with a shop on the ground floor and living space above.
The pair aimed to create a welcoming home for older adults, contrasting with typical clinical care facilities. Camino House currently houses seven residents, aged 70 to 93, and integrates them with the wider community through the Joo Chiat Social Club.
The Social Club hosts activities like art, cooking, and exercise, welcoming both residents and outside participants, including preschool children and volunteers. Chee and Lee developed this model partly because Chee’s father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when she was young, and they saw a need for more supportive and engaging eldercare options.
Singapore is becoming a “super-aged” society, with 21.4% of its population over 65 in 2026, and Camino House is part of a growing private sector responding to this demographic shift. The facility, purchased for S$3.5 million in 2020, offers a middle ground between independent living and nursing homes, with costs starting at S$4,500 per month. Residents like Victor Lee, 70, report that the social atmosphere has improved his quality of life.
