All options to be considered for 38 Oxley Road; site to be converted into public space if acquired
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If a preservation order is made, the Government plans to acquire the site to safeguard and preserve it.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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SINGAPORE – If the 38 Oxley Road site is preserved and acquired by the Government, it will be converted into a public space such as a heritage park, said the National Heritage Board (NHB) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) in a statement on Nov 3.
As for buildings and structures on the site – including the one-storey pre-war bungalow, which founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew lived in from the mid-1940s until his death in 2015 – the Government will consider all options.
These include the three options laid out by a ministerial committee in 2018. The committee, which reported to then Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, was set up in June 2016 to look into what to do with 38 Oxley Road.
It had outlined several possible approaches: Retain the whole house by gazetting it as a national monument or for conservation; keep just the historic basement dining room; or allow it to be fully demolished.
The committee said the decision on which option to pick would be left to a future government, as no decision was then required.
In their Nov 3 statement, NHB and SLA said a decision would be made “well within” the current term of government.
“The relevant authorities have not had the chance to assess the state of the buildings and structures within the site,” they said.
“If access is obtained, the authorities will undertake a detailed study to consider how to proceed.
“Regardless of the option taken, the Government will respect Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes, and will remove all traces of Mr Lee’s and his family’s private living spaces from the buildings.”
On Nov 3, the Government announced that it intends to gazette the site to preserve it as a national monument, after the NHB’s Preservation of Sites and Monuments Advisory Board assessed that it had historic significance and national importance.
If a preservation order is made, the Government plans to acquire the site to safeguard and preserve it.
NHB and SLA said that preserving the site does not obligate the Government to preserve all buildings and structures on the site in their current state.
If preserved, acquired and converted into a public space, the site cannot be redeveloped for residential or commercial purposes, or other private uses.
The 38 Oxley Road house now belongs solely to Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s brother, Mr Lee Hsien Yang, after SM Lee sold it to him in 2015 at market value.
Officially, the property is owned by a company called 38 Oxley Road Pte Ltd, whose sole shareholder is Mr Lee Hsien Yang.
His son, Mr Li Huanwu, is the company’s director.
Dr Lee Wei Ling, their sister, lived in the house until her death in early October 2024
On Oct 21, 2024, Mr Lee Hsien Yang submitted an application to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for demolition works
On Oct 24 that year, NHB launched a formal assessment of the site to determine if it was worth preserving as a national monument.
URA deferred its evaluation of the demolition application, given this study.
NHB on Nov 3, 2025 issued Mr Lee Hsien Yang a written notice
Upon the issuance of the notice, 38 Oxley Road is legally recognised as a proposed national monument, granting it equal protection to national monuments.
Mr Lee Hsien Yang has two weeks – or until Nov 17 – to submit any objections to NHB.
Thereafter, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo will consider objections received – if any – and decide whether to issue the preservation order, which formally confers national monument status on the site.
The 2018 ministerial committee’s report states: “Given that the property is currently being occupied as a dwelling-house, the state is legally required to acquire it within one year from the date of the preservation order.
“This is to free the owner from all forms of imposition arising from the preservation.”
Acquiring 38 Oxley Road allows public officers to enter and study the property’s physical condition – something that has not been done while the site is privately owned.
The compensation amount will be determined by the Land Acquisition Act, and SLA will appoint a professional private valuer to assist it in determining the market value of the site.
