38 Oxley Road to be acquired following national monument gazette

The site at 38 Oxley Road has been gazetted for acquisition following earlier announcement that it would be gazetted as a National Monument, according to a joint statement by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and National Heritage Board (NHB) on Thursday (Jan 29).

38 Oxley Road was gazetted as a National Monument on Dec 12, 2025 - the acquisition of it is aimed at safeguarding and preserving the location's "historic significance and national importance", the statement reads.

"Preserving and acquiring the site means that it cannot be redeveloped for residential, commercial or other private uses," said the statement.

Following the acquisition, the condition of the building and structures within the site will be assessed and studied before further steps are taken.

The location is historically significant, as it was the home of Singapore's first Prime Minister, the late Lee Kuan Yew.

The home was then willed to his son and former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who sold it to his brother Lee Hsien Yang.

Lee Wei Ling, Lee Kuan Yew's daughter, was allowed to live in the home as a condition of his will, but the former died in October 2024.

In order to respect Lee's wishes to protect his family's privacy, all traces of their private living spaces will be removed from the interior of the house, said the statement, adding that "under no circumstances will the interior of the house as Lee knew, be displayed, recorded, remodelled or duplicated elsewhere".

Both the SLA and NHB have stated that they will work with the owner of the site - presently a company wholly owned by Lee Hsien Yang - through the acquisition process.

Compensation for the location will be based on the Land Acquisition Act 1966, taking into account the market value of the site at the date of the gazette of acquisition and claims "submitted by the persons interested", the boards stated.

khooyihang@asiaone.com