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October 2007
A Resident’s Perspective
By: Brad Reed
Creative Writer
Well, the Duke and the Duchess, and our brood of mischievous dependents, have been residents of New Town since August 2005, and I'm curious. Are you happy here? Would you do this again if you had the chance? Do you see yourself establishing roots here; contributing to this community regularly; growing old here? The answer to all of these questions for me is a resounding 'YES'!
If you've sampled some of my previous ramblings, you're already aware of the fact that I'm sold on New Town. I'm also sold on the New Urbanism lifestyle...hook, line, and sinker. Furthermore, as you've read in some of my offerings, New Town has been a life changing experience for my family and me. You may think I've been crowing the company line for some unseen reward or mystical compensation, but it's nothing of the sort. I consider my insignificant articles a small payback for the opportunity to escape the humdrum lifestyle we had prior to our move to New Town.
Many of you may have relocated from tightly knit and socially active neighborhoods, so the camaraderie of New Town may not seem so captivating to you. Many more of you may have come from successful and popular apartment and town home communities, which also reinforce the community atmosphere with the closeness of the residents and the ever active lifestyles they offer. And still, many more of you may have come from 'new' neighborhoods, minimizing the freshness that New Town displays. Well, none of the above applies to my family in our previous home, so it's easy to see why New Town is so inspiring to me.
Granted, the fault was ours, and ours alone. We were complacent when it came to preparing our home for it's eventual sale and indecisive in where we wanted to move. Day after day, month after month, year after year. We continued to put off the inevitable and always waited for paradise to come to us. We longed for the little old town atmosphere...in the big city. Edwardsville was hot on our radar screen occasionally, but it never had all of the pieces we wanted. I'm not even sure we knew what all of the pieces were that we apparently wanted. Kirkwood and Webster Groves were always in the picture too, but the cost seemed prohibitive for 'rode hard and put away wet' homes that supplied the 'All American Neighborhood' appeal. I didn't want to move into a home with a 'forever' repair schedule such as many of these homes seemed to carry along as extra baggage.
New Town gives us what we longed for…in Spades! It’s a long term commitment that satisfies me every day. I know, to some of you, the progression of this development seems slow and sometimes stagnant, but this is a monumental undertaking for our area. A first. There are many well qualified and respected home builders to choose from in the St. Louis area, and Whittaker Homes has proven they are definitely in the upper echelon of this group. However, Whittaker Homes is not just building homes, they are building an entire city. A community. A lifestyle. As much as this whole concept is new to me, it is just as new to them, and I feel that they continually make the necessary adjustments to unforeseen roadblocks that challenge a project of this scope. And, they are consistently adding fun and exiting civic opportunities for us, as well.
Perhaps the most astounding aspect that I see living in New Town is the fact that the developer, Greg Whittaker, lives among us. This requires courage. And confidence. And trust in your employees that they will do a job you will be proud to put your name on. Not only does this man presumably answer to those supplying the vast capital investment for our community, he makes himself available every day to anyone who might approach him with a question or concern. Or to just say hello. Face to face...twenty-four seven. For this, I consider him a man's man with extraordinarily broad shoulders.
Even though we may incur speed bumps from time to time as New Town continues to develop, my cup will always be 'half full'. I see the progress being made every day and I can envision what's on the horizon, all the while enjoying the many benefits we never had before in our previous neighborhood. My family is having the times of our lives and we owe it all to the community we now live in.
How can you not love this place?
"The Duke of Hempstead"
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