URA has published a proposed Master Plan amendment to carve the 13ha Kallang Distripark site — a disused rubber factory turned warehouse complex — into new housing plots, a park, and new roads. Three heritage octagonal warehouses may be preserved as part of the plan. Here's what's on the table, and what it could mean for the surrounding area.
On 14 August 2026, URA published a proposed Master Plan amendment to redevelop Kallang Distripark — currently a warehouse site occupying a former rubber factory — into private housing. The 13ha site would be split into three residential plots, a new 2ha park, a 1.8ha reserve site, and new roads, with analysts estimating well over 2,000 new homes across the plots.
If you've driven along Upper Boon Keng Road past the cluster of distinctive octagonal warehouse buildings, you've seen Kallang Distripark — and it's now on track to become one of the more significant private housing sites to enter the pipeline this year.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority published a proposed amendment to its Master Plan on 14 August 2026, responding to a private redevelopment proposal it received. The 13ha site — zoned for housing since as early as 2003, and currently associated with entities linked to Lee Rubber Company, founded by Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist Lee Kong Chian — would be carved into three housing plots, a new neighbourhood park, a reserve site with use yet to be determined, and a new road network.
Part of the site is freehold; the rest sits on a 99-year lease expiring in 2067. Property analysts estimate the largest plot (adjacent to Kallang Bahru, about 3.6ha, largely on freehold land) could yield roughly 1,200 condominium units on its own. A second plot abutting Pelton Canal (about 1.6ha) is estimated at 450 to 550 units, and a third plot (about 2.4ha, zoned for residential use with commercial on the first storey) at 600 to 800 units.
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. According to veteran architect Hoong Bee Lok, whose own 1981 university thesis centred on Chew's work, the octagon-shaped warehouses were designed to be modular, meaning new warehouses could easily be added to the site as needed — a detail that speaks to how deliberately the original buildings were conceived, not just functional sheds.
URA has told The Straits Times it has engaged the site owner on the potential to retain one of the warehouses as a heritage marker within the proposed park, with studies on this still ongoing. Where physical retention isn't possible, URA says it will work with the owner and relevant stakeholders to document and commemorate the site's history — through heritage interpretation efforts like digital documentation or storyboards.
Worth knowing: Wee Chwee Heng, a founding partner of Kumpulan Akitek alongside Chew and Hisham Albakri, noted that the warehouses' multi-sided design allowed access from multiple points — flexibility that suited a rubber warehouse's shipping needs. Architecturally distinctive buildings like these, when they do get preserved in Singapore redevelopment projects, tend to become defining landmarks for the new precinct built around them.
Kallang Distripark isn't an isolated story — it's part of a broader push URA has been making to turn areas along the Kallang River into a lifestyle destination, an ambition it showcased in its 2025 gazetted Master Plan as part of turning the 10km river corridor into a connected hub. Nearby, the Kallang View HDB Board project is already under construction, and flats in the surrounding Kallang Bahru and Geylang Bahru areas were largely completed in the 1970s.
The neighbouring 6ha Geylang Bahru Industrial Estate — next to Geylang Bahru MRT station — is also zoned for housing, sitting on a 99-year lease expiring in the mid-2070s, suggesting this entire pocket of the city is being repositioned for residential use over the coming years, not just this one site in isolation.
Property analysts are broadly positive on the site's prospects. Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at Realion Group, said the planned redevelopment could inject fresh vibrancy into the area. Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at Mogul.sg, pointed out that the reserve site earmarked for the park is likely the most valuable plot on the land parcel, sitting where two streams converge and commanding good waterfront views. Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Singapore, added that the site's waterfront setting, central location, and proximity to amenities like Geylang Bahru MRT station and Geylang Bahru Market & Food Centre mean the upcoming homes are likely to see high demand.
Nothing is confirmed to launch yet — this is a proposed Master Plan amendment reflecting URA's response to a private redevelopment proposal, not a finalised, gazetted change, and no developer has been named for any of the three plots. But for anyone already watching the Kallang Bahru / Geylang Bahru pocket, this is a meaningful signal: a genuinely large new supply of private homes, a new park, and improved road connectivity are heading to an area that's historically been light on new private residential launches.
If you own property nearby, redevelopment activity at this scale — plus the heritage-led placemaking URA seems to be leaning into — tends to support medium-term value in the surrounding estate, particularly once the park and any preserved heritage elements are actually built and the area's character starts to shift from industrial to residential-lifestyle.
What stands out to me here isn't just the unit count — it's how deliberately URA is trying to build a story into this redevelopment, rather than just clearing the site and starting fresh. The willingness to actually study keeping one of the octagonal warehouses, rather than defaulting to full demolition, is the kind of thing that tends to make a new precinct feel like somewhere with an identity, not just another block of towers. Waterfront-adjacent sites with that kind of narrative baked in have historically commanded a premium once they're built out.
My honest read for buyers: this is still early — no launch, no developer, no pricing to react to yet. But if you're the type of buyer who likes to get ahead of an area before it's fully "discovered," Kallang Bahru and the surrounding pocket is worth putting on your watchlist now, particularly given how connected this feels to URA's broader Kallang River ambitions rather than a one-off site.
Curious what a site like this could mean for property values nearby, or want a read on the Kallang Bahru / Geylang Bahru area before it changes?
WhatsApp Bryan → More guides →Source: The Straits Times, "Kallang Distripark to be redeveloped for thousands of new private homes" by Ng Keng Gene, published 18 August 2026. This article discusses a proposed Master Plan amendment as at the date of writing — it is not yet a finalised or gazetted change, and no developer or launch timeline has been confirmed. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice.
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