Tim Busse, town architect for New Town St. Charles, took me on a tour of new urbanist community, which recently celebrated its 10th birthday. New Town won’t be as large as initially planned — the housing recession reduced expectations. Even so, roughly 1,255 homes have been closed and businesses established during the last decade.
The people who live here enjoy a very nourishing place with an organic farm. Residents who want to grow their own vegetables can rent plots. The farm stand is open on weekends from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This summer the farm’s managers held a “Bash at the Farm” that included many booths and live entertainment.
New Town has some of the nicest amenities of any new-home community developed in the last decade, to be sure. The town planner, Duany Plater-Zyberk, met a requirement for providing 80 acres of storm-water retention by designing a series of ponds and canals. Many of the homes are sited to have water views.
