New Town, Missouri
New Town at St. Charles (sometimes just called New Town) is a planned community developed in the city of Saint Charles, Missouri. The community was planned using Traditional Neighborhood Design planning techniques (also known as neo-traditional new town planning) that are now GeneRally referred to under the concept of the New Urbanism. New Urbanism is the concept of building from scratch a walkable, mixed-use city neighborhood or new town in order to provide an attractive alternative to the spread out, automobile-centric, subdivisions with cul de sacs and twisty streets that lead nowhere, and houses that look the same for miles.
Geography
New Town is built on old farm land approximately 18 miles from the Mississippi - Missouri Confluence in North St. Charles County. New Town is bordered by New Town Blvd, Missouri Route B, and Boscherttown Road. Some consider the area from Fountain Lakes Industrial Park and going north towards Missouri Route B and east towards Missouri Route 94 as part of New Town as well.
Natural Environment
While New Town itself is built on farmland, the surrounding area is farmland and wetland and home to many species of ducks, cranes, geese, snakes, deer, fish, hawks, and eagles. For hundreds of years, the cycles of flooding from the river have deposited many rich nutrients to the soil which have made the area ideal for farmers, but at the risk of flood damage to their own properties. Despite opposition by some environmental groups of the farmers' presence in this region, the farmers have limited their farming to more inland areas where the risk of flooding is reduced.
New Town at St. Charles is primarily built on a geologic uprise of land, according to local topographical maps. The worst flood in recent history was in 1993. While much of St. Charles County was underwater, the land where New Town currently stands had water seepage on the northern section near the St. Charles Airport but no actual flood waters. This is able to be confirmed by the Army Corps of Engineers. Since the builder was aware of the high water table during flooding conditions, they developed a series of lakes and canals and took the dirt to raise the surrounding land where the houses are built.
How New Town was planned
Planned by Greg Whittaker of Whittaker Builders, Inc. and designed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company during a public Charrette in February of 2003, the New Town at St. Charles incorporates a wide range of housing types, many parks and greens, an organic farm, a large town center and six neighborhood centers. The project is a total of 755 acres, one of the larger TNDs in the nation. When complete, New Town will have up to 5,700 dwelling units and is expected to take 12-15 years to complete
Building New Town
The first residents moved into New Town in April of 2005.
Restaurants and Shops in New Town
Here is the lowdown on New Town Catering/Restaurants:
• The Town Hall is attached to Marsala’s Market, our corner store. They are open at 9am for coffee, breakfast items and also have great sandwiches for lunch. They have catered many New Town events at the Town Hall and are consistently great. The proprietors are Mark & Debbie Hohenshell (who live above the store) and they can be reached at 636-724-8833. They are open Mon - Sat: 9:00 am - 8:00 pm & Sun: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
• Across the street from Marsala’s is Beatniks, a cool place which opens for breakfast on the weekends and doesn’t close until 1:30am every night except Sunday. The restaurant serves the best food in New Town and they can easily cater your event. The proprietors are (long time residents) Mel and Randy Williams and they can be reached at 636 916 2006. Mel works for me in the Whittaker Architectural department and was part of the original New Town charrettes. Their website is http://www.beatniksplace.com
• New Town has a new bakery on Domain Street, Haute Cakes. They are open for breakfast and lunch. Their phone number is 636 493 1852. Their website is http://www.haute-cakes.com/ .
• The Bridge is a Fair Trade gift shop that has great coffee and breakfast pastries. They open at 8am on Saturdays & 9am on Sundays and they are about a block from the Town Hall and can be reached at 636 724 9921. Their website is http://www.thebridge-online.org/.
• Padavans NY is the newest New Town Restaurant with an eclectic menu open for lunch and dinner Friday through Sunday. Greg and Marcus Padavan are the proprietors. They are behind the Wine Bar and across the street from the Bridge. Their phone number is 636 947 6969
• Finally, the Domain Street Wine Bar is the place to see and be seen. Danna Gilbert and Terra Shipp are the Proprietors and although they are no longer on Domain Street, they still offer light fare, coffee drinks, pizza and a full bar along with great nightlife. Fridays they open at 4pm, Saturdays they open at 2pm and Sundays they open at noon. They can be reached at 636 916 2092 and their website is http://www.domainstreetwinebar.com/.
All of these businesses can be found on Facebook.
Activities in New Town
There are many activities to enjoy in New Town, from fishing in the lakes and canals to enjoying the many music festivals that are held throughout the year. There are active bocce and sand volleyball leagues as well as radio-controlled sailboat fleet. Two big holidays are celebrated with style in New Town, July 4th and Christmas.