Restoration. Renaissance. Revitalization. All words that describe the atmostphere in Old North St. Louis, an urban village on the edge of Downtown St. Louis. “People are moving here, renovating and building homes, starting businesses,” says Sean Thomas, executive director of Old North St. Louis Restoration Group (ONSLRG).

With the explosion of activity and renovation, ONSLRG, in collaboration with the Regional Housing & Community Development Alliance  (RHCDA), found themselves with three distinct neighborhood development projects that needed to be united, to show the true depth and breadth of city living in this area. Even though the three—historic Connect Apartments, the former 14th street pedestrian mall Crown Square, and newly constructed North Market Place homes—were united by the name Crown Village, the problem of an overall look still existed. How could they communicate the dynamic lifestyle, the diversity of their neighborhood and warmth of the people AND put on top of it all a modern, urban/cool edge? To meld those ideas and sell the idea of city living in this century, they came to Project 13.

The look we developed embodies the energy and spirit of Crown Village—diverse, friendly, interesting, yet rooted in the historic architecture and urban sensibilities of the Old North St. Louis area. Translating equally well to posters, brochures, sales packets and a website, the overall look focuses on Crown Village’s most important asset—the people.

 “Through these materials, people from all walks of life can see themselves living and working in Crown Village,” says Sean. “Interest has become very high, and continues to grow.”

As the transformation of Old North St. Louis continues, our bet is on this village to become a model of urban community revival.