Photography by Carmen Troesser
It’s about 5 o’clock on a summer evening, and the residents of New Town are taking advantage of the day’s still-generous sunshine. On one of the canals, kayakers paddle; at the water’s edge, fishermen await nibbles on their lines; a couple embraces for a wedding photo. “Gathering your thoughts?” asks a town resident, clutching a bag from nearby Marsala’s Market, as she walks past me outside of Town Hall.
Opened in 2004 by developer Greg Whittaker, New Town is an example of New Urbanism that feels more like a movie set than a neighborhood in the suburbs of St. Louis. It’s located in St. Charles, north of Interstate 370 amid acres of farmland, but its planning concept is based on old urban precedents of places like Charleston, South Carolina, and Key West, Florida. The development of 700-plus acres comprises five neighborhoods complete with ponds and canals and small businesses. A town hall and amphitheater serve as anchors. Completing the town-within-a-town are six restaurants, a wedding chapel, a dentist’s office, and a church. Book clubs, cycling groups, and an organic farm keep residents occupied.
“We’ve been putting in 80 to 100 homes a year for the last four or five years,” says Jeff Haynes, a resident and member of New Town’s Board of Governors. With architect Tim Busse overseeing designs, homes and businesses maintain a colorful but cohesive architectural style.
Photography by Carmen Troesser
But what Haynes and others like most about New Town is that everything is in your backyard. “We can watch volleyball on a Monday night or play washers at the wine bar,” he says. “It’s really just getting out of the house and not having to put your kids in a car.”
Connection among neighbors is real here—New Town was designed with common spaces instead of big backyards, mail centers instead of mailboxes, to encourage socializing. “It’s a love-hate relationship,” says 10-year-resident Molly Schad, “but it also gives you the opportunity to go ‘Oh well, I’m up here; I’ll stop and get dinner at Marsala’s.’” Schad moved to New Town after visiting a similar development in another state. She likes the community and the fact that it’s walkable for her kids, now 17 and 18. “If you want to hang out for the day, you have the whole lake,” she says. “On lazy nights, you’re sitting on your front porch.”
Photography by Carmen Troesser
Schad’s just wrapped up the second annual Chalk the Walk, a sidewalk chalk art competition she started. Judges have picked the winners. As she walks past each creation, she points out who’s drawn what by name and Haynes hums with recognition.
So just how well does everyone know everyone else? “I probably know more than the average bear,” says Schad, the proprietor of Molly O’s Tropical Sno, a snow cone shop. “Everybody knows your name.” Moments later, a couple passing by in a golf cart call out to her. She waves back, laughing: Case in point.
The concert at the amphitheater starts at 7 p.m., and bands play most summer weekends. “We’re packing our lounge chairs and blankets,” says Schad. They’ll listen to music and have drinks; the kids are free to roam. Later, she and her husband might stop for a nightcap at one of the area bars before returning to their home, in the South Lake District.
“I think it gets this weird rep for being cult-y,” Haynes says. New Town, Schad adds, is “like any other place. What you put into it and what you get out of it—that’s your responsibility.”
