Serving to Change
HOW THE
NEW HOME
CAME TO BE
The Ticking Time Bomb
Entering the old St Joseph ’ s Home in Jurong West was like stepping into the warm embrace of Mother Nature . Her chirping birds , lively koi and lush greens made the place feel like a resort chalet rather than an institutional residence . It was as if time had stood still . But in reality , it was ticking away ... to its impending ‘ expiry ’ on 5 April 2019 . When the decision was made in 1989 to move from its original Gek Poh Road site to a bigger and better facility , a 30-year lease was signed for the land at Jurong
West . At that time , 30 years seemed a long way off . But once into the 21st Century , the sad fate became clearer as the deadline loomed .
The Alternative ?
With the land lease up , St Joseph ’ s Home would have to cease existing . The alternative is to find good reason to renew the lease . Says Sr Geraldine Tan who was already the Executive Director of the home then , “ I had ideas on how we could improve the design and services of the home . This was also the time when more people were showing up as ‘ seniors ’ in the statistics . So
Catholic Welfare Services ( CWS ) decided to renew the lease with a new proposal .” Sr Geraldine quickly called on a few architect friends and asked if she can build upwards , extending the low-rise one-storey brick buildings into six-storey blocks . They discouraged her saying the buildings were over 20 years old and thus unsuitable for upward extension . A better option was to tear down and rebuild . “ I said that is very scary right ?” Sr Geraldine recalls , “ But in the end
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