The city plans to repurpose a long-idle government guesthouse site into a public space with a pandemic memorial and underground infrastructure.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction has submitted a proposal to transform a prime 4.36-hectare plot of land in District 10 into a public park, complete with a memorial honoring Covid-19 victims and an underground space.
The proposal, recently submitted to the city's People's Committee, focuses on land at 1 Ly Thai To Street, Vườn Lài Ward - an area bordered by three major roads: Ly Thai To, Hung Vuong, and Tran Binh Trong, near the bustling Cong Hoa roundabout.
The site was once home to the Government Guesthouse, featuring seven colonial-era villas, but has been left vacant for more than a decade. Due to its location and scale, it's considered one of the city's most valuable "golden land" parcels.
Under the city's 2013 zoning plan, the site is designated as mixed-use land (2.18 hectares) and urban public green space (2.18 hectares). It has also been reserved as a location for metro stations on both Line 1 (extended) and Line 3.
Covid-19 memorial and underground space proposed
The Department of Construction suggests amending the zoning plan to support the creation of a public park, a Covid-19 victims memorial, a playground, and integrated underground facilities. To ensure meaningful and innovative design, the department proposes organizing an architecture competition for the memorial.
Both the memorial and the park are recommended to be developed through public-private partnerships (socialization model).
In tandem with the redevelopment, the department also proposes expanding the section of Tran Binh Trong Street that connects Ly Thai To and Hung Vuong. The estimated cost for this road expansion is approximately 1.073 trillion VND (around $43.7 million).
Of this amount, about 830.5 billion VND (around $33.8 million) would be allocated to land clearance and relocation of 115 households and one organization. Construction itself would cost an estimated 40.7 billion VND (about $1.66 million).