Newtown in St. Charles (St. Louis, Kirkwood: foreclosed, rental, homeowners association)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
believe it or not this didnt flood in 93' you you could not drive in you had to boat in only. newtown sets within 1 mile as a crow flies from missouri and mississippi rivers before any building started there they were bringing dirt in for months to raise this area
Oh yes, and to clarify the flood plain thing. A very small portion in the very front of NT flooded in '93. If you don't believe it, then check out the Corps of Engineer maps. I've seen them.Since then, the level of the ground has been raised above the 500 yr. flood plain with the dirt dug out to form the lakes and canals. With all of the area flooding that happened this past spring and early summer, we were high and dry.Finally, the economy is affecting our businesses as it is in every part of the country but they are still open. Marsala's Market is great, the New Town Organic Farm offers wonderful fresh produce and fresh eggs, Beatnik's & The Brickhouse Bistro have terrific food, the Wine Bar is getting ready to move into a LARGER space, and a new French/Italian restaurant called Padavan's New York will be opening sometime in the next month. WE ARE NOT WINGHAVEN!!
OK, not sure what happened to my first post but here goes again. Reading all of the previous posts (except for mine) I see that none are written by anyone who actually lives in New Town. You know, people have been so critical of our community but we happen to LOVE IT! People ARE out and about with their dogs and kids, walking and riding bikes, sitting out on Beatnik's patio having a drink & listening to bands, playing sand volleyball, having street parties, and on and on. I will say, though, you won't find us out in the morning the day after a big event or party. Takes a little while to get moving the day after.
As far as "driving forever" on the two lane road to get there, it's 1.5 mi. from the highway (5-7 mins). Sure beats the 25 mins. it used to take me to get to the highway from my former subdivision. Right now that road is in terrible shape from several years of construction trucks driving on it, but it is slated for improvement and widening beginning in 2010 (although could get pushed because of the state of the economy).
In a flood plain? No, the level of the ground has been raised to over the 500 year flood plain level, using dirt that was dug out to form the lakes and canals that run through the place. Only a very small portion in the very front of the property was flooded in '93 (before the land level was raised) and if you don't want to take my word for it, check out the Corps of Engineers maps.
Creepy? Not to us. We have a GREAT time and know sooooo many people from all over the community. Most of the business owners live there, too. I have dozens and dozens of new friends since living there and they are not just acquaintances but good friends who are there for you when you need them.
Yes, the price of our homes is a bit higher than surrounding areas but are well insulated and well built using good materials. We have Kolbe & Kolbe doors and windows and our siding is concrete composite, hardy-board style siding. We have gorgeous scenery all around us and the most fantastic sunsets. We live in a place that feels like a resort but at far less cost than homes even at Lake of the Ozarks. Our HO fees are extremely reasonable and fall in the $700 to $800s, depending on lot size. HO fees include household resident cards for use of the pools, plus all of our events which include holiday events geared toward the kiddos,four music festivals per year and misc. concerts scattered throughout the summer, movie nights at the outdoor amphitheater during the summer, and more.
You can find out all of this information simply by asking any resident walking by when you are out there visiting or for an event.
If you guys want to diss us and say the place is creepy, go right ahead. We joke about it all the time, knowing what a great lifestyle we have there. If you don't like it, no problem--go live somewhere else because you wouldn't be any fun to have in our community anyway.
^ some of us posters that the previous poster dissed as not living in the area actually are from there.
Perhaps theres a reason that the contractors hauled in so much dirt?
I remember when the whole place was under construction, and the comments that were made about when the next '93 flood came, the foundations were going to crumble on all those buildings.
Those comments were made by subcontractors pouring the foundations.
If you are happy in NT then I am happy for you. The reason it comes under a lot of criticism is because it is designed primarily to appeal to people who want eco-friendly, pedestrian friendly, green, living in the suburbs. In other words, the kinds of things that appeals to people about cities but out in the suburbs. However, I have one major problem with this.
The fact that it is in St. Charles, which pretty much necessitates driving everywhere. With no major mass transit, no street grid system, and being miles out from most of the St. Louis area jobs, living there pretty much forces everyone to drive to work. If it were in say, central county, within a short walk/bike distance to Metrolink then that would be a different story. Or even further, if St. Charles voters had decided that public transportation was a good thing years ago, they would have Metro there now.
Of course I also dislike these type of secluded planned communities. It's like the people there think they are a part of some special club. Oh wow you really have a wine bar and coffee house near your house? You can walk around on a sidewalk? And you can shop at a farmers market? Wow it almost sounds like you live in the city/U.City/Clayton/Maplwood/Richmond Heights/countless other areas! Of course you get all those things without having to live near "undesirables" which is probably what irks me the most about these types of developments.
I've been there once and thought it was creepy too (apparently, along with everyone else on here!). It's set up like my city neighborhood, only out in the middle of nowhere. If you want "urbanism" why not get the real thing? I also noticed there are lots of exisiting homes for sale, well below what the builders are asking to build new. How would you build up any equity if everyone's underbidding each other to get out??
This is the #1 reason why I highly not recommend buying a home in new town, most especially a new home. You're not going to build up equity if any if you're competing not only with existing home sales but new mass new construction sales.
Of course I also dislike these type of secluded planned communities. It's like the people there think they are a part of some special club. Oh wow you really have a wine bar and coffee house near your house? You can walk around on a sidewalk? And you can shop at a farmers market? Wow it almost sounds like you live in the city/U.City/Clayton/Maplwood/Richmond Heights/countless other areas! Of course you get all those things without having to live near "undesirables" which is probably what irks me the most about these types of developments.
Hahaha! So true.
I gotta say, I lived in Old Webster Groves, near Deer Creek Park, and I loved that area. If you want a place that's walkable and has character, move there or one of the surrounding neighborhoods like Maplewoods.
Initially and on the surface it is very appealing - Nice layout, convenient amenities, clean and new. Then you realize that it is on a flood plain in a semi-rural industrial area. and it still seems very incomplete.
Stepford seem to be the right word. But they said the same thing about Irvine, Ca (which is now a huge city that was originally a cluster of small developments like NewTown. Irvine now has its own very distinct character, is the center of business in OC and is a very vibrant community, But it took over 20 years to get there.
If you always wondered what it would like living on the set of "Pleasantville" then New Town is the place for you. It seems the architects were trying to create a fake Smalltown, USA like Mayberry, only more sterile, contrived, and sorta creepy. And yes, overpriced for where and what it offers. I might add, if you're a minority trying to live then that should be interesting.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
newtown
. 
