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ST. CHARLES — The last undeveloped property on St. Charles’ historic Main Street will soon be transformed into 14 multi-story townhomes.

The St. Charles City Council unanimously approved the project, known as Katy Trail Place, earlier this week.

Katy Trail Place will be located on a vacant seven-tenths of an acre in the 1000 block of South Main Street, a cobblestone street lined by historic homes and storefronts.

St. Charles’ Main Street was once a popular stop for pioneers and steamboat travelers, as well lawmakers headed to Missouri’s first capitol building. Today, the neighborhood hosts multiple festivals and special events and is a popular tourism destination, drawing visitors from around the country.

The neighborhood — which is the state’s largest and first historic district — also has more than 125 businesses, including home decor stores, restaurants and hotels. Residents here take great pride in preserving the neighborhood, painstakingly renovating historic buildings that date back to the 1800s.

The new development will feature a mix of three- and four-bedroom townhomes spread across two buildings. One building will face South Main Street while the other will face the Katy Trail, according to documents submitted to the city. Each townhome will have its own garage.

Prices for the townhomes have not been released, officials said.

Developer Nick Liuzza, owner of Kirkwood-based NJL Custom Homes, said construction on the colonial-style townhomes is set to begin this fall and is expected to take about a year to complete. This will be his second project in St. Charles.

City leaders, including Ward 2 Councilman Mark Hollander, praised the Katy Trail Place project’s design for “blending into the ambiance of Main Street� at the council meeting Tuesday.

He said Liuzza “looked at an opportunity to build it in such a way that it, although it is new construction, it is going to look like it’s been there for quite a while.�

Liuzza’s project, which has been in development for two years, is one of several large-scale or sizable residential projects underway in St. Charles, including in the downtown area.

Over a year ago, the city approved a 130-unit apartment complex at the intersection of Fifth Street and First Capitol Drive. The project is paused as the developer awaits city approval on revised plans to only build 108 apartments, said Community Development Director Zach Tusinger.

The revised plans, he said, which still call for a multi-story apartment building designed to fit into the city’s historic district, are set to be voted on at the Aug. 18 meeting of the St. Charles Landmarks Board.

The city also recently approved the construction of 34 new townhomes in the 1100 block of South Main Street, a block away from the Katy Trail Place project. Construction has not started and developer, TJ Redmond, still needs building permits, Tusinger said.

Tusinger said the city has fielded lots of interest from developers wanting to build additional apartments and townhomes at the American Car Foundry property, where the city is in the beginning stages of building its new city hall, dubbed the St. Charles City Centre Complex.

This $85 million project, which voters approved last year, will have new council meeting chambers, office space, conference rooms, archival space for the St. Charles Historical Society, a senior center, a recreation center, arts and culture space and more. Construction on the City Centre Complex is expected to take about two years to complete.

Another project, Heart of St. Charles, is on hold after its original developer, Lux Living, withdrew, Tusinger said. The city is awaiting a proposal from a new developer, he said.

Lux Living had planned to demolish The Heart of St. Charles banquet center and build apartments and a hotel near the Ameristar Casino.

In 2023, the city had approved a preliminary development plan that calls for 280 apartments, a 125-room hotel, restaurants, a rooftop bar and a 604-vehicle parking garage in the 1400 block of South Fifth Street.

Lux Living, led by brothers Victor Alson and Sid Chakraverty, were prolific apartment builders in St. Louis and had become one of the city’s largest landlords. They then turned their attention to building in St. Louis and St. Charles counties, but the Heart of St. Charles project never got underway.

And in recent years, the company has become embroiled in scandal and worked to sell of a number of its properties. In September, they were indicted on fraud charges related to the St. Louis’ minority hiring program. The brothers, along with their accountant, who was also indicted, have pleaded not guilty.