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Rendering by GIB of Forum Studio, courtesy of ArtHouse

Take a spin through Town & Country—or along the riverfront—and you’ll see evidence of St. Louis’ progressive, Modernist past, from Bernoudy houses to Saarinen’s Arch. So … what’s up with all the French Country and faux-Colonial that’s held sway for the past few decades?

“Looking back, our city was very progressive at one time,” says Kyrle Boldt, owner of surf shop Splash! (and now, budding developer). “The Ethical Society of St. Louis, Busch Stadium, a lot of different things. What happened? Why did we stop leading in that way?”

Rather than pondering the whys, Boldt’s leading by example and building seven high-end Modernist townhomes on Grandel, in the heart of Grand Center. He’s calling the project ArtHouse, since it will be surrounded by the Pulitzer, the Contemporary, Powell Hall, The Fox … If the reactions on the urbanstl.com message boards are any indication (“Unbelievable. This is the kind of project that should have been built in Grand Center 10 years ago”), Boldt is right: St. Louis is ready to reclaim its progressive architectural heritage. He describes ArtHouse as “warm Modernism”—clean, minimalist architecture rendered in materials like copper and ipe wood. The townhomes, designed by Forum Studio, are 2,400 square feet, with a flexible floor plan, floor-to-ceiling windows and second-floor terraces; they’ll be green-certified, built by Sage Homebuilders. And sometime in late 2008 or early ’09, Grand Center will be installing an art park right across the street, and buyers get a five-year membership to the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

“It’s where you can view art, buy art and now,” Boldt says, “live in art.”