New homes are springing up throughout North St. Louis City. Recently, I took a really good tour of far North Central City and was excited by all of the new development, much of it that came out of nowhere, yet I was dismayed by some of the once solid working-class neighborhoods that have fallen into ruggedness.



Streets like St. Louis, Terry, and Lotus Avenue (near Goodfellow) had block after block of solid well-kept homes when I was a kid and teen. Now there's a hodgepodge of well-kept, new, rundown, rehab, and under construction - homes and storefronts - in the area.



Black flight (to wherever), particularly middle-class, has definitely hurt parts of N. St. Louis that were once stable and vibrant.



Despite this, there's still LOTS of promising new developments - new and rehab - either planned or underway in North City. North City is buzzing although much work needs to be done.



New residential building and homes on or near Clara.



























New homes on Maffit Ave. near Goodfellow (Barrett Brothers Park)











I definitely believe that North City and the city in general have hit rock bottom and are on the way back.

Personally, I'd live in that gray-vinyl home in a heartbeat. It certainly isn't one of the best designs, but it certainly isn't the worst old or new design I've seen in the city either.



Honestly, I don't see homes being built like the old days anymore. Even really good designs that are intended to blend well tend to look cheaper (or maybe unauthentic) than the old ones with a few exceptions.



I've seen some pretty good new designs in Soulard, Lafayette Square, and in the CWE to a lesser extent. They sometimes blend seamlessly with existing architecture. Then again neighborhoods like Soulard and LS have strict design codes.





New designs in Soulard



Taken by new2thalou at SSP [St. Louis] Soulard