Commonwealth drive was developed around c. 1965 as a response to mitigate overpopulation in Chinatown in the 1950s. Forming one part of the uniform row of ten-storey housing blocks – and thus affectionally known as “chap lau chu” (Hokkien for ten-storeys) – it is one of the earliest neighbourhoods built by HDB.

First envisioned by Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) as one part of a five-part installation of neighbourhoods, Commonwealth Drive was eventually developed by HDB in the later years of the 1960s with the retention of SIT’s original neighbourhood concept. Commonwealth Drive was thus endowed with the necessary shops, markets, schools, clinics and community centres to enable the residents to conduct their day-to-day activities within the comfort and convenience of their own neighbourhood. Beyond that, other amenities were developed in Queenstown to further elevate the standards of living – such as clinics, a library, over 20 schools, and a sports complex. Hawker centres, introduced by HDB in 1967 to house itinerant workers, were also installed in each neighbourhood.

Under HDB, Queenstown thus became a satellite town in the truest sense of the word by the early 1970s. Commonwealth Drive had formed an important and microcosmic part of this satellite town, truly embodying the values and spirit of community that HDB had set out to achieve.