PUBLISHED ONNovember 03, 2025 6:00 AMBYDesmond NgThe Government has announced its intention on Monday (Nov 3) to gazette the site at 38 Oxley Road - home of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew - to preserve it as a national monument.
This site has been found "to be of national significance with great historic merit" and "worthy of preservation", said the National Heritage Board's (NHB) Preservation of Sites and Monuments Advisory Board.
Based on this assessment, NHB has recommended that the site be preserved, while Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo has accepted this and intends to gazette 38 Oxley Road for preservation as a national monument.
So, what does this mean for the site's owner? AsiaOne breaks down why it matters and what happens next.
Built in the late 19th century, the site is associated with key events in Singapore's history.
The basement dining room, for example, was where founding fathers such as Dr Goh Keng Swee and Dr Toh Chin Chye held meetings at during the 1950s. That subsequently led to the formation of the People's Action Party (PAP) and the site was PAP's headquarters until 1959.
Other meetings pivotal to Singapore's independence, such as those involving future opposition leaders Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Suan, also took place at the site.
Lee Kuan Yew lived there from the 1940s until his death in 2015.
His children - Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the late Dr Lee Wei Ling, and Lee Hsien Yang - grew up at 38 Oxley Road.
Lee Hsien Yang is its current legal owner, through the company 38 Oxley Road Pte Ltd, based on AsiaOne's checks.
National monuments are an integral part of Singapore's built heritage, which the NHB preserves and promotes for posterity.
These are monuments and sites that are accorded the highest level of protection in Singapore.
The former Kandang Kerbau Hospital (KKH) was recently gazetted on Oct 1 as Singapore's 76th national monument.
It was reportedly the first national monument to be gazetted in more than three years. The last one to be gazetted was the Padang in August 2022, just six months after Fort Siloso was declared its 74th.
NHB has given the owner and occupier of 38 Oxley Road written notice of Acting Minister Neo's intention to make a Preservation Order.
The owner of the property is 38 Oxley Road Pte Ltd.
According to NHB, Lee will be "given a reasonable period to submit any objections" and Acting Minister Neo will "consider every objection before making a final decision" on whether to make a Preservation Order to place the site under the protection of NHB as a national monument.
This "reasonable period" is a span of two weeks, which means any objections must be submitted by Nov 17.
Once it's issued, the government intends to safeguard and preserve it. If it's privately owned, the government may acquire it through compensation.
If access is obtained, authorities will conduct a feasibility study.
The Government plans to convert 38 Oxley Road into a public space, with one possible outcome being a heritage park.
It will consider all options, including partial or full demolition of the buildings and structures, but will remove all traces of the Lee family's private living spaces out of respect for the founding PM's wishes.
Gazetting is restricted to the most nationally significant buildings, according to a 2022 NHB guide for owners and occupiers of national monuments.
These are buildings with clear links to nation-building, or where communities held nationally significant events.
Once a site or structure is gazetted, it is known as a National Monument and is also marked by a plaque bearing the state crest.
While gazetting a site does not affect its ownership - such as the land's freehold title and other legal interests - it does affect future development plans.
