The title compound (2S, 5S)-tert-butyl 3-oxo-2-oxa-5-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane-5-carboxylate was synthesized as a chiral cyclic amino acid ester from the corresponding cis- and trans-5-hydroxypipecolic acid ethyl esters via an intramolecular lactonization reaction without using chiral catalyst or enzyme and without separation by chiral column chromatography. The chiral compound was characterized using 1H NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Its exact structure was then determined via single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of a single crystal obtained after recrystallization of the compound from ethyl acetate/diethyl ether. The crystal was found to be of the orthorhombic space group P212121 (No. 19, noncentrosymmetric, chiral) with a=9.6402(10) Å, b=9.7026(10) Å, c=12.2155(12) Å, Dcalc=1.3194 g/cm3, and a Flack parameter of 0.0(5) at 90 K. The compound has a bicyclo[2.2.2]octane structure comprised of lactone and piperidine groups.