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The City of Lake St. Louis is an upscale planned community situated around two lakes between Interstate 70 and Interstate 64 in western St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,708 as of the July 2006 US Census estimate. Lake St. Louis is a suburb of St. Louis
History
In January 1961 Ellis Ellerman and Ira Nathan begin developing plans for a private resort community. The vision was for a weekend resort with a lake large enough for recreation and a location close to St. Louis. Ellerman and Nathan hired engineers to to begin the initial planning of the lake and community, and Nathan named the project "Lake Saint Louis" in 1961. Ellerman and Nathan formed Trails Lake Development Corp. in 1962, and by August 31 of that year, 10 lots had already been sold in the project, which was to feature an 800-acre lake and an 80-acre lake. Ellerman and Nathan lacked adequate financing and business experience, and they soon found themselves in over their heads on the project. Ellerman and Nathan were soon joined by several other investors to keep the project afloat, including R. T. Crow. The financial troubles continued for Ellerman and Nathan, and The Healey Discount Corp., owned by Crow and the three other investors, foreclosed on Ellerman and Nathan's Trails Lake Development Corp. in May 1966.
R. T. Crow felt the location of Lake St. Louis, between two major highways, I-70 and Rt. 61, and the westward growth of St. Louis justified building a new town, rather than just the weekend community envisioned by Ellerman and Nathan. He investigated the idea of new towns, including visiting two others in the east: Reston, Virginia, and Columbia, Maryland. In the end, Crow bought out the other three investors who were part of the The Healey Discount Corp., and he became the sole developer of the Lake St. Louis community. St. Charles County approved the preliminary plan for Lake St. Louis in April of 1967. Construction on the dam for the 600-acre Lake St. Louis, the larger of the two lakes in the community, began in 1968. It was completed in 1973 and Crow filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 1974 - an action brought on in part by the energy crisis.
With Crow out of the picture, and the looming threat of annexation from O'Fallon on the East and Wentzville on the West, the residents of the Harbor Town area of the community petitioned St. Charles County Circuit Court for incorporation of the Town of Harbor Town. The Court granted the petition in June, 1975, and with the approval of the incorporation, the Circuit Court appointed a Board of Trustees: George Heidelbaugh, Charles Bailey, David Spitznagel, Betty Patton and Howard Haddock as Chairman. In December of 1975, the town boundaries were expanded to include what was known as Phase A, the western-most portion of the city. In 1976 a special census was conducted that counted 2,445 residents. Residents voted in 1977 to change the name to Lake Saint Louis and become a 4th Class City under the Revised Statutes of Missouri. Howard Haddock was elected as the first mayor of the city.
Geography
Lake St. Louis is located at 
38¡Æ47¡Ç8¡ÈN, 90¡Æ47¡Ç1¡ÈW (38.785620, -90.783610).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.3 square miles (21.6 km©÷), of which, 7.5 square miles (19.4 km©÷) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.2 km©÷) of it (10.08%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,281 people, 3,923 households, and 3,005 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,359.3 people per square mile (524.9/km©÷). There were 4,133 housing units at an average density of 552.4/sq mi (213.3/km©÷). The racial makeup of the city was 95.60% White, 1.84% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.
There were 3,923 households out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $68,830, and the median income for a family was $80,700. Males had a median income of $57,201 versus $30,335 for females. The per capita income for the city was $32,064. About 2.1% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
Popular industries for men: Construction, Educational services, Health care, Finance and insurance, Public administration, scientific and technical services, Transportation equipment.
Popular industries for women: Accommodation and food services, Department and merchandise stores, Educational services, Finance and insurance, Health care, Professional, scientific, and technical services, Real estate and rental and leasing.
Popular Jobs for men: Sales representatives, services, wholesale and manufacturing, management occupations except farmers and farm managers,Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations, supervisors, Other production occupations including supervisors, Retail sales workers except cashiers,Other sales and related workers including supervisors.
Popular Jobs for women: Assistants, Cashiers, Teachers, Secretaries, administrative support workers, supervisors,Registered nurses, Retail sales workers.
Retail Development
When Schnucks opened a store on the city's growing south side in 2004 at the intersection of I-64 and Lake Saint Louis Boulevard, it marked the beginning of a rapid retail and commercial growth for the city. This was the first new retail development the city had seen in 17 years. Until the period of current retail growth, the city had very little commercial development. Residents of the affluent lakeside community traveled to nearby Wentzville or O'Fallon for most shopping, dining, and other service needs.
The Shoppes at Hawk Ridge
Bounded by I-64 to the north, South Fox Hound Drive to the east, and Hawk Ridge Trail to the South, the Shoppes at Hawk Ridge is an 800,000 sq ft retail development situated on the south side of Lake St. Louis. The development was spurred by the new $26 million Hwy N overpass completed in October 2005, which will eventually become part of the Page Avenue extension. The development opened in January 2006, and it is anchored by St. Charles County's first Wal-Mart Supercenter, Lowe's, and numerous smaller retailers and restaurants. The Wal-Mart Supercenter was the most expensive store the company ever built, according to developer Don LaBrayere. Building styles and landscaping play a vital role in the look of the development. Businesses such as White Castle and Steak n Shake were forced to abandon their standard store designs and color schemes in order to comply with style elements of the development.
The Meadows at Lake St. Louis
The second major retail development, which is currently under construction, is the Meadows at Lake St. Louis. Set to open in the fall of 2008, the Meadows will be an open air shopping district geared toward the community's affluent residents. The Meadows is being developed to meet the growing demand for specialty stores and restaurants in St. Charles County. It will feature two landscaped boulevards in a downtown street grid, surrounded by 500,000 sq ft of restaurants and specialty retail including upscale specialty department store Von Maur and specialty stores Banana Republic, White House/Black Market, JoS A Bank, New Balance, Bed Bath & Beyond among others. The Meadows is located on the north side of I-64 near Lake Saint Louis Boulevard.
Notable Current and Past Residents
External links
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