View from homes.

^Links don't work for img tag, and they send you to a login screen when you enter them into a browser manually.



[EDIT] They work now! Beautiful homes!(Well the brick one at least.)

I like the rooftop decks.

Where exactly is this stretch of new homes (what street)? Just curious.



That rooftop deck ... I'm conflicted. I LOVE the idea, but it looks kinda funny to me. Maybe if the railing spanned the entire top of the building (could look weird from the front, though...). Or perhaps all it really needs are more houses on either side, so it becomes more hidden/private.

I like the rooftop decks - very Baltimore. The view from the deck must be great. But, it probably isn't meant to be viewed from the side. When they line the street with houses, you won't see the decks or, at least, they will not be prominent.

Bastiat wrote:The ones that are all siding look SOO much better than the brick front ones.

I've got to agree with you. Must be something about the design.

loftlover wrote:

Bastiat wrote:The ones that are all siding look SOO much better than the brick front ones.

I've got to agree with you. Must be something about the design.

I think they fit in with their surroundings a little better. Dogtown is more of a frame neighborhood than a brick one.

Bastiat wrote:The ones that are all siding look SOO much better than the brick front ones.

Unfortunately you are right.

That's quite a view....

loftlover wrote:

Bastiat wrote:The ones that are all siding look SOO much better than the brick front ones.

I've got to agree with you. Must be something about the design.

Sometimes I wonder if we are demanding brick at our own peril. These houses are a perfect example. Maybe we should start a thread and hash this out.

I agree with those of you who like the all-siding homes the best, those are beautiful. It seems like all-brick or all-siding homes look the best...it's the combination of the two that looks bad.



I've seen a particularly horrid example of this on South Jefferson, where the builders used dark red siding to try and blend in with the brick...it doesn't look good.

The difference with these siding houses vs. others, it's quality construction. Siding isn't bad, as long as the construction is good. Unfortunately, most of the construction using siding the city is poor construction (as well as most in the county and beyond).



We joke and use the term McMansions, but that's what those new houses are that use cheap siding and poor construction quality. The give the image of luxury by building houses that look big. When in actuality, the construction quality is low. But if you fill the inside with enough white walls, and bland carpeting, most people can make the inside look nice enough to have a decent home.



These houses are of high quality. The designers have taken the time to use detail to add to the house visually. And I've seen the pics from the inside, and they are just as high quality. I think these are all Highland homes, so give a big thumbs up to Highland, for taking the time to create high quality construction in the city.

Ehh... Looks very small townish. Definitely does not carry on the city's legacy of handsome housing stock.

laboubet wrote: It must have slipped through from the opposite world (most likely the front had a structural problem and that was the cheaper fix, but I will continue to believe it slipped through from an evil parallel universe)

you may be right, if it ever meets up with its brick-fronted, vinyl sided twin they could annihilate each other and release gamma rays into the universe...lets hope this doesn't happen.

laboubet wrote:

I went past these today. They are located on Fairmount, just a block east of Franz Park. GREAT location, if you ask me. The view to the east is awesome.



They all look better in person than in the photos, but obviously stick out as "new." They're set-back farther from the street than the other houses, I'm guessing because they all have driveways and front-loading garages. It's not as weird for the siding houses, as they begin from the corner. However, the three brick-faced buildings in the top photo seem awkwardly pushed back from their older neighbors.



The brick house in the top photo on the very LEFT has a roof deck like the one in the second photo. It's hardly noticeable from the street with the other houses next to it.



The other houses around here are the typical Dogtown mix of small 1-2 bedroom homes (brick and frame) and much larger 2-story frame houses. A few 2-story brick ones here or there, but not tons. Some of the older houses on the block are for sale (not many left, actually) ... probably looking to make money from a raze-and-rebuild purchase. Several vacant lots that have developers signage on them waiting for new infill.



There are some other similar new houses on Prather a few blocks west of here that blend okay with their block. Those are all-brick, if I remember right.

new-to-STL wrote:There are some other similar new houses on Prather a few blocks west of here that blend okay with their block. Those are all-brick, if I remember right.

Here are those homes on Prather Avenue. They were built by Highland Homes, the same company doing the <A HREF="http://www.urbanstl.com/viewtopic.php?t=1757">Highland Walk</A> development on Arsenal Street.











Here are a few more homes around the coner from the Glades Corner development.

^Thanks, urbanstlouis!



It seemed odd to me how the Prather & Fairmount houses (excluding the siding ones) were so similar in style, but the Prather houses seemed a to ... I don't know ... have a different 'quality' to them. Makes sense if they are different builders, though.



Or maybe ... it's just because Prather is a block full of homes, so I got a more generalized impression of the houses. Whereas Farimount still has empty spaces and I looked at each house (or chunk of houses) individually.

Here is an updated photo showing those homes on Prather Avenue (same as above).







Here are a couple photos of misc. new homes in Dogtown.











Dogtown Walk







Dogtown Walk II (now under construction).

Notice what a differance that full-grown tree makes in the front yard of the second photo? It's great when developers are able to save the existing trees.

Those Dogtown Walk places look pretty good.

These houses do look pretty good. I especially like Dogtown Walk, maybe because they are attached.

I bet those attic rooms are really cool! You never see that in new construction.