7229 Forsyth Blvd.

In 2009, Michael Goellner, owner of Grid Realty, purchased a double lot on Forsyth Boulevard in University City—one of his favorite areas in the city. “I studied architecture at Washington University, and we lived on Forsyth and loved it,” he says. “It’s a great location.”

Five years later, he’s torn down the old home on the property and designed and built a new one. “I like being able to create something from scratch and end up with a high-quality product—something that I would live in and own,” Goellner says. “I’m in commercial real estate now and miss the creative side of the business sometimes, and this allows me to be creative.”

Goellner initially rented out the old home at 7229 Forsyth Blvd. but later decided to tear it down, explaining, “The layout was so bad we couldn’t reuse it, and it crossed the lot line so we wanted to make room for two homes.” The building process on the first new home began in 2013. The old structure was demolished by hand to salvage the brick and the wood floors, both of which have been reused in the new home. “It ended up taking three times longer than it typically would, but we managed to get enough brick off the old house,” Goellner says. “We also retained the original garage in the back to be used as a carriage house, pool house or workshop.”

Although the exterior, which includes hand-cut limestone accents, features what Goellner calls classic Clayton architecture, the interior’s flowing floor plan is designed to appeal to modern buyers. Spacious, light-filled family and dining rooms, a kitchen and an office suite are on the first floor; a laundry room and bedrooms, including a luxurious master suite, are upstairs. A deck, providing views of Clayton, features an overhead pergola and is accessible from the kitchen. “The interior is very transitional, meaning it’s a flexible floor plan,” Goellner says. “It’s set up for entertaining, and we designed it to work for a buyer, whether or not they have kids. A couple, for example, could easily convert the fourth bedroom into a master closet or an exercise room.”

It’s the location, though, that gets Goellner most excited. “We’ve lived a lot of places around St. Louis, but being on Forsyth was the most fun,” he says. “It’s just the center of activity. If you look at where the area was when we lived here in 1995 to where it is today, there’s so much that continues to be done. It’s an attractive place for young couples or empty nesters, and it’s really unique for St. Louis.”

listing price | $1,095,000
listing agent | steven lange and stephanie oliver of dielmann sotheby’s international realty

Photos by Reed R. Radcliffe