SINGAPORE – Kallang Distripark, a privately owned disused rubber factory converted into a warehouse site, is being prepared to be redeveloped for private housing.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Aug 14 published a proposed amendment to its Master Plan, which involved carving up the site into several housing plots and a new neighbourhood park, as well as introducing new roads.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times on Aug 17, a URA spokesperson said the proposed amendments are to facilitate a private development proposal that the agency had received.
Checks by The Straits Times show that the 13ha site – which has been zoned for housing since as early as 2003 – is currently owned by entities that are associated with Lee Rubber Company, whose founder was Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist Lee Kong Chian.
A portion of the site is freehold, while the rest of it is on a 99-year lease that expires in 2067. Attempts to reach Lee Rubber Company for comment were unsuccessful.
The site includes three iconic octagonal buildings known as the Lee Rubber Godowns – rubber warehouses designed by the late pioneer architect Victor Chew of Kumpulan Akitek.
The URA spokesperson said that it has engaged the owner on the potential to retain one of the warehouses as a heritage marker within the proposed future park, adding that studies on this proposal are ongoing.
“Where physical retention is not possible, agencies will work with the owner and relevant stakeholders to document and commemorate the history of the place through heritage interpretation initiatives, such as digital documentation or storyboards,” said the spokesperson.
Three housing plots will be introduced at the site under proposed plans.
Two are meant purely for residential use. The larger one, located adjacent to Kallang Bahru, is about 3.6ha in size and sits largely on freehold land. Property analysts estimate that this site can yield about 1,200 condominium units.
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