New Town Saint Charles
St. Charles, Missouri Project Image Gallery Project Information View All ProjectsKey Facts
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2002
Designed
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726 ac.
Project Size
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Whittaker Homes
Client
Program
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3,500
Units
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150,000 sq.ft.
Retail Space
About New Town Saint Charles
Built on a flat, nondescript piece of former farm land, with maybe 6 trees, New Town St. Charles is the embodiment of the phrase “if you build it, they will come”. Having been annexed by the City of St. Charles, it weathered the 2007 recession as one of best-selling communities in suburban St. Louis. The key to its place-making success has been the leadership of its developer, Greg Whittaker, to fully embrace both the daunting requirement of providing 90 acres of retention ponds to address the area’s flood-prone history, and the challenge to deliver the broadest range of housing of any DPZ project. The ubiquitous water has become what both defines the character of the place and orients the visitor. Designed in collaboration with Corban and Goode Landscape Architects, the richly detailed park spaces framing the water’s edge are connected to small squares and courts woven throughout. It has become the destination of choice for the region, whether for hanging out on the weekends or as the backdrop for weddings and grad nights.
Development Approach
- Make small & local possible: incubator retail prioritized/subsidized early in the development
- Affordability and variety: unusual mix of housing typologies and lifestyles were a developer requirement.
- Social synergies: town hall + market + post office; bar + beach volleyball
- Destination urbanism: landmark chapel + town center green = thriving event business hub.
Defining Design Details
- Delicate balance: simple building forms & linear streets vs. richly textured landscaping
- Double-duty: the network of lakes and canals = storm water management + ambitious recreational program.
- Public realm focus: biggest investment into public spaces and infrastructure = bridges + monuments.
- Frame the vistas: every water view showcased by street tree allées.
Project Categories
Project Website
https://www.newtownstcharles.com/Media
New Town booming as St. Louis region grows at its edges
From: St. Louis Post DispatchBy: Janelle O'Dea
Big addition planned for New Town St. Charles, with 850 new homes starting in 2019
From: St. Louis Post-DispatchBy: Mark Schlinkmann
A New Urbanist Community With an Old Soul
From: Southern LivingBy: Rex Perry