IPOH: An idea that was conceived in 1992 materialised in full bloom recently at Meru, Ipoh. The GreenAcres Retirement Village, Malaysia’s Premier Retirement Village, is all set to change the misconceptions and general outlook on ageing in Malaysia.
GreenAcres founder Siew Yin Leng gathered experiences from people who lived and worked in retirement villages overseas and came out with this pioneer project. Having no local reference points, the management and operational processes were aided by Australian experts. One of the new approaches is the lease deposit structure whereby the deposit paid by the occupants will be fully-refunded once a resident leaves the village.
The character and quality of the community residing in GreenAcres are controlled with the lease deposit structure as well as keeping the cut-off age of the property owners at 55 years old.
The official opening ceremony was graced by Minister of Plantation, Industries and Commodities Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, who recently saw the unveiling of RM10mil clubhouse and Phase 1 resident-ready villas.
According to Total Investment Sdn Bhd Executive Director John Chong, the clubhouse is the heart of GreenAcres and is a representation of ‘Life Begins at 60’.
The villa homes range from 734 to 1105 sq ft are situated within gated and guarded community.
The homes are incorporated with age-friendly features such as wider doors, lower and larger switches, wider and longer handles on furnishings, bathroom grab rails, taps with lever handles, seats in the shower, ramped entryways at the main entrance, step-less bathrooms, emergency call buttons, and lever handles on all doors.
Another important feature that highlights the concept of a retirement village in GreenAcres is the round-the-clock availability of first-aid trained Response Team who will respond immediately to the emergency call buttons connected from the homes to guardhouse as well as the clubhouse.
The homes are designed to open out directly to the linear gardens, comes with manicured gardens, walk paths, gazebo, calming water features and flourishing greens.
“There are modern healthcare facilities and retail options which are all within unparalleled natural surroundings without the congested pollution found in more densely populated urban areas”, said Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong.
