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The Aspen Tree at The Forestias seeks to set the gold standard for the region with its approach to active ageing as a luxury community for retirement living
As a whole, Asia has diverse demographic patterns across its countries. A significant number of them, however, are facing ageing populations due to declining birth rates and increasing life expectancies. These trends have been spurred by economic growth, which has also precipitated various social and cultural changes, thus making elderly care a topic of great relevance in the coming decades.
“One challenge that ageing populations face worldwide is how the traditional housing unit isn’t necessarily valid anymore, so how older adults live will change,” observes Dr Ballon, vice president of Baycrest Global Solutions. As a subsidiary of Toronto-based research and teaching hospital Baycrest, Baycrest Global Solutions focuses on sharing Baycrest’s research and innovations in geriatric care globally.
Dr Ballon continues, “In Thailand, for instance, co-residency rates have fallen from 71 per cent in 1995 to 55 per cent in 2014, so a multi-generational family living together under one roof is becoming less common. For older people over the age of 60—and even adults—this presents greater risks of worry and isolation. Trends like these are what we need to address.”
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Above The living room of a condo unit in The Aspen Tree
The living room of a condo unit in The Aspen Tree
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Dr Jun Sasaki, founder and CEO of Yushoukai Medical Corporation, concurs with Dr Ballon’s observations. “Across Asia, it is becoming increasingly difficult for families to care for their elderly,” he says. “In the past, nursing homes and hospitals provided institutional care, but recent years have seen people choosing to remain in their own familiar homes instead.”
According to Dr Sasaki, a Tokyo-based expert on geriatric medicine and care, this desire for autonomy extends to how the elderly are choosing to live their silver years. “Instead of just waiting for care to be provided unilaterally, the elderly are focusing on active preventive care themselves to live longer and better. Their attitudes have also changed: they want control over how they lead their lives, even if they should require geriatric care along the way.”
Clearly, such shifts demand a recalibration of our approach towards elderly care. This has become increasingly salient given the trend towards ever-smaller nuclear families, which has made it even more important to properly manage the provision of care for the elderly.
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Above The Aspen Tree from the ring road running through The Forestias
The Aspen Tree from the ring road running through The Forestias
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In Bangkok, Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC) is pioneering a new property concept that aims to redefine active, purposeful ageing. This development, The Aspen Tree, is available to buyers aged 50 years and above on a life lease basis, and forms part of The Forestias project sprawling across some 118 acres just a short drive from the city’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Within The Forestias’ portfolio of properties, The Aspen Tree is focused on active ageing and retirement. To that end, the sale of each unit is structured to pay not just for the physical property itself, but also lifetime services and care for each resident. These include enrichment activities such as lessons, medical care ranging from health checkups to end-of-life care, insurance coverage and daily healthy breakfast.
Read more: How The Aspen Tree At The Forestias Nurtures a Healthier, Happier Retirement
Above A range of activities for residents will be available at The Aspen Tree
A range of activities for residents will be available at The Aspen Tree
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By providing this complete range of services, The Aspen Tree enables its residents to focus on maintaining a healthy, socially engaged lifestyle. This is essentially the development's raison d'être: to meet the physical, psychological and social needs of residents, hence making their silver years a healthy and meaningful one. On this, Dr Sasaki notes, “An important part of preventing disability and dementia is addressing frailty. The most effective interventions have been nutrition and exercise, but in recent years it has become clear that social connections have a huge impact on maintaining our physical and cognitive functions.”
Of course, the physical units themselves are an important consideration. At The Aspen Tree, potential buyers can choose between various property types, including apartments spread across three Active Living Condominiums, as well as larger homes within two Sky Villa Residences. A total of 290 units will be homes to an estimated 400 residents for a sizable community with much potential for social connections.
According to Park, The Aspen Tree will serve both as proof of concept and the gold standard for senior living communities in the region. She notes that apart from similar developments in Japan, such a concept is nascent in the region. “[The elderly] should explore the options that are available out there, such as senior living communities,” she opines. “A concept like The Aspen Tree doesn’t just give them independence and a high quality of care, but also gives their children options and greater freedom in how they can live their lives.”
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On a related note, The Aspen Tree will also have a fully-fledged medical centre run with the help of Baycrest, which has come on board as its strategic partner. With its experience in developing and deploying the latest medical technologies—and care methodologies—Baycrest is well-poised to ensure that the process of ageing is managed as well as possible. What this means is that barring the most severe medical conditions, The Aspen Tree is thus essentially self-sufficient to meet the medical needs of its residents."Baycrest has a proud history of 100 years in providing care and services for older adults. Worldwide, we are also the premier research facility in this field,” declares Dr Ballon.
It’s a thought echoed by Dr Sasaki, who thinks that the concept of caring for the elderly has evolved—which necessitates a larger mindset shift by society as a whole. The Aspen Tree may just be the proof of concept that the region needs, in order to rethink elderly care and aged living.
Sales have already begun for The Aspen Tree’s units, and the property is expected to be completed along with the rest of The Forestias by late 2023. More information is available here.
Disclaimer: The images here are computer-generated, and for illustration purposes only
