SINGAPORE'S first three-in-one building - which houses a community club, a library, and a specialist medical centre - has opened in Jurong West.

The Frontier Community Place gathers The Frontier Community Club, Jurong West Public Library and Jurong Medical Centre under one roof.

The building, officially opened yesterday by Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, is meant to be a place where residents - both existing and new citizens, and the young and old - can interact.

The four-storey community hub has been operating since 2006, but is being opened now as Housing Board flats in Jurong West have only just been fully taken up, said a Pioneer Constituency Office spokesman.

Last year, 300 activities organised for residents were held there. The idea for the three-in-one facility was first mooted by Member of Parliament for West Coast GRC Cedric Foo, who is also the adviser to Pioneer grassroots organisations.

Mr Foo told my paper: "You don't want to build too big a community club, because of high maintenance costs."

He added that his idea allowed for economies of scale, as the three organisations now enjoy about 1,524 sqm of common shared facilities, which include an indoor auditorium and a rooftop plaza.

Pioneer Constituency Office added that the three organisations complement one another, making the hub a one-stop destination for the family.

The library attracts many youths and children, while the medical centre caters to the elderly, and the community club organises activities for both the young and the old, said its spokesman.

Jurong Medical Centre serves as an outpatient specialist medical centre, providing services such as day surgery and specialist outpatient treatments closer to where families live, so that they need not go to general hospitals, Mr Foo said.

It offers ophthalmology and geriatric- medicine services, and orthopaedic surgery, along with other services.

Yesterday, Pioneer Constituency Office organised a carnival at the community hub to mark its official opening.

One of the residents at the event, Mr Ashraf Al Fishawy, 55, who is from Egypt but is now a citizen, goes to Frontier Community Place at least once a week to visit the library.

He said: "I found a book on Arab culture and history, which I didn't expect a neighbourhood library to have. The hub covers everything people need, and it's convenient for families."

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