New Meets Old: Designing to Fit a Community’s Character and Culture

St. Louis’ Central West End neighborhood is a hub for the city’s eclectic cultural, entertainment and residential scene. In the heart of the neighborhood, amidst elegant turn-of-the-century homes and tree-lined streets, we are building Citizen Park, a state-of-the-art 12-story luxury apartment building on the corner of Lindell and Euclid.

Situated in one of the metro’s strongest submarkets, Central West End is a treasured pocket of St. Louis not only for its pedestrian-friendly streets and vast green spaces but for its architecture and storied history spanning more than 100 years. In the early 1900s, skilled craftsman from across the country were employed to beautify the area for the 1904 World’s Fair and the 1906 Olympics – both significant historical accomplishments of artisanship. For all these reasons and more, the project required a developer that could truly connect the residents to the essence of the Central West End. The property needed to strike a perfect balance, respecting the area’s history while incorporating modern building features – a priority for many community members who offered input for the project.

With vast experience designing, developing and building luxury apartment buildings for convenient urban living, we struck that perfect balance by incorporating guidelines employed in similar submarkets across the country and customizing them for the Central West End. Citizen Park incorporates a prescribed selection of finishes and amenities designed to capture the character of the Central West End, while incorporating modern features like abundant natural light and clean architectural lines. 

An important feature that makes Citizen Park unique within Central West End is a 50-foot set back at street level, which we made possible by putting all residential parking below grade. The result is vibrant, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and retail patio space the entire length of Lindell Boulevard. It’s a modern and chic outdoor urban space and an updated architectural version of the artisanship found in historical buildings surrounding it. 

As with all projects, we collaborated closely with community members throughout the design review process to ensure Citizen Park would be embraced for enhancing the area’s treasured architectural character. From our very first interactions, they made it clear they would settle for nothing but the best for the property – and that’s what we’re building.

Real estate within the Central West End is a core asset to St. Louis. People are drawn to it and will always want to live there, making Citizen Park a highly anticipated project. By employing a methodical design review process that included members of the Central West End community, we designed a building that honors the area’s history while setting the standard for luxury living in St. Louis.