Embassy of the Republic of Singapore
Diplomatic history and full roster
Embassy of the Republic of Singapore
3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
RTKL’s intersecting metal roofs, pale brickwork and teak screens bring tropical architectural references to Washington’s International Chancery Center.
| Fact | Value | Basis and sources |
|---|---|---|
| Constructed | 1993 | documented NCPC records construction in 1993; the completed building appears in the September 1994 architectural press. A contemporary newspaper report dates the opening to 28 September 1993. |
| Acquired by Singapore | Lease date unverified | unverified The parcel is federally owned. The lease or site-use start remains unresolved. The 2017 tax lot record dates parcel registration. |
| Neighborhood | North Cleveland Park | documented DC assessor neighborhood NBHDNAME for parcel 2055 0818; International Chancery Center location. |
| Architect | RTKL Associates | documented |
| Rooms | 55–130 est. | estimated; Planning estimate: rooms = building area × room-area fraction ÷ average room size. For this office property, assume 45%–65% of the recorded 49,653 sq ft is enclosed usable room area, with an average 250–400 sq ft per room. The range combines the low fraction with the larger room size and the high fraction with the smaller size, rounded outward to five rooms. Room allocation and average size are assumptions. Covers the recorded building area; the interior has not been independently measured. Estimated room range. |
| Floor area | 49,700 sq ft | estimated; Estimate from model floorplates calibrated to the 1,274.93 m² official roof outline (EPSG26985). The plan separates the four-storey office wing, three-storey garden/east wings and curved bay, counting the tall entrance only once and deducting a 7.2×7 m atrium on two upper levels. The official embassy tender confirms a basement and attic: assume one basement matching the enclosed footprint and an attic occupying 50% of the main cross-shaped wall footprint. Remove roof overhangs using model wall lines before summing. The resulting main above-grade floors are about 33,400 sq ft, independently close to the architect’s 36,000 sq ft renovation scope; basement/attic coverage remains assumed, so the total is an estimate. |
| Site area | 37,800 sq ft | verified; Parcel total: 2055/0818. DC ITSPE LANDAREA, recorded square feet. Roads and unrelated neighboring parcels excluded. |
| 2026 DC Assessment | $23,809,860 | documented CY1YEAR 2026; ASSESSMENT = PHASELAND 5,665,440 + PHASEBUILD 18,144,420 for parcel 2055 0818. Federal tax exemption does not make the assessed value zero. |
| 2026 Value | $23.8M | verified; Parcel total: 2055/0818. Active 2026 DC ITSPE ASSESSMENT; land plus improvements. Not proposed value, tax owed, sale price or leasehold value. The assessed parcel may be federally owned; this figure does not assert ownership by the occupying mission. |
| Diplomatic use | 1993 | verified; Contemporaneous AP report in The New Paper, 29 September 1993, page 2, reports that Foreign Minister Wong Kan Seng opened the new Washington embassy the preceding day. The opening is independently documented in Ambassador Ong Keng Yong’s photograph, reproduced by World Scientific. |
Singaporean Ambassador’s Residence
2620 Rock Creek Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
A long brick house on Rock Creek Drive, with a pedimented doorway and two tall chimneys on its Woodland Drive side. Built in 1990, it stands behind clipped hedges and a stone garden wall.
| Fact | Value | Basis and sources |
|---|---|---|
| Constructed | 1990 | estimated; CAMA AYB; effective year 2017 is not construction. |
| Acquired by Singapore | Not Verified | unverified Official sale/deed dates are missing or placeholders. A secondary listing reports an April 1992 sale, while CFA mentions an unnamed buyer; neither establishes the deed grantee. |
| Neighborhood | Woodland-Normanstone | verified; Standardize the established geographic neighborhood name for 2620 Rock Creek Drive NW; normalize the existing Woodland Normanstone spelling without changing the geographic assignment. |
| Architect | Not Verified | unverified CAMA, the address record and reviewed CFA site-history material do not identify the house’s architect; targeted exact-address research did not resolve the attribution. |
| Rooms | 15 | verified; Current DC residential CAMA ROOMS for the identified dwelling; this assessor count is distinct from bedrooms, bathrooms or the number of modeled room studies. |
| Floor area | 5,600 sq ft | verified; Recorded DC CAMA building area; preserve the source field and building scope. |
| Site area | 11,000 sq ft | verified; Two contiguous, nonoverlapping Singapore-owned parcels: main house parcel 2140/0046, 9,774 sq ft, plus southwest edge parcel 2140/0847, 1,213 sq ft. Sum 10,987 sq ft. Use the current assessment LANDAREA fields, without substituting the GIS calculated-area field. |
| 2026 Value | $7.1M | verified; Current 2026 ITSPE ASSESSMENT sum across the same two-parcel residence estate: 2140/0046 at $7,054,630 plus 2140/0847 at $25,530. Both records have DELCODE N and CY1YEAR 2026; the southwest strip has PHASEBUILD 0. Current assessed estate total. |
| Diplomatic use | 2007 | documented-by; Washington Life’s dated October 2007 Embassy Row directory explicitly lists Ambassador Chan Heng Chee’s residence at 2620 Rock Creek Drive. Earliest dated occupancy evidence at this address. The 1992 sale and CFA inspection establish ownership and condition; the move-in date remains unresolved. An earlier Clinton Library list also names Chan at the property but lacks a verified document date and is not used to assign a year. |
Historic Moments
A consul for the trading port
4 July 1836
Joseph Balestier is appointed the first US consul to Singapore. American commerce in the British port acquires a permanent representative.
Diplomatic relations begin
4 April 1966
Singapore and the United States establish diplomatic relations, less than a year after Singapore’s independence.
Lee Kuan Yew visits Washington
October 1967
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew meets President Lyndon Johnson. Singapore seeks American investment and a continuing US presence as Britain prepares to withdraw from the region.
A foundation for security cooperation
November 1990
A memorandum of understanding enables US access to military facilities in Singapore, establishing a durable basis for the two countries’ defence relationship.
A free-trade bridge across the Pacific
2004
The US–Singapore Free Trade Agreement enters into force—the first US bilateral free trade agreement with an Asian country.
Singapore hosts the Trump–Kim summit
12 June 2018
Singapore hosts the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader, providing the venue and support for talks between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.
Chiefs of Mission
| Diplomat | Office | Recorded service | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashok Kumar Mirpuri | Ambassador | 2012–2023 | Former |
| Chan Heng Chee | Ambassador | 1996–2012 | Former |
| S. R. Nathan | Ambassador | 1990–1996 | Former |
| Tommy Koh | Ambassador | 1984–1990 | Former |
| Punch Coomaraswamy | Ambassador | 1976–1984 | Former |
| Ernest Steven Monteiro | Ambassador | 1969–1976 | Former |
| Wong Lin Ken | Ambassador | 1967–1968 | Former |
| Lui Tuck Yew | Ambassador | 2023–Present | Current |