A new subdivision of 69 homes could soon be built at the western end of Town & Country, at the city's border with Chesterfield and Ballwin.

The preliminary site development plan for a proposed subdivision on 30 acres off Clayton Road near Woods Mill Road could go before the Board of Aldermen for final approval as early as July 11. Before that, though, the plan is expected to go before the city's Architectural Review Board.

The site is just west of the Town & Country Crossing shopping center.

Six years ago, the proposed subdivision property was part of a 75-acre site, where the developer had planned a retail center that would have equalled the St. Louis Galleria in square footage, said Alderman Fred Meyland-Smith, board representative to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The developer eventually chose to revise the plan to allow for residential use and reduce the amount of retail space.

The Town & Country Crossing shopping center was opened in 2008 just to the east of the residential site, at Clayton and Woods Mill, and was developed by TNC Investors LLC.

Now the remaining acreage has been proposed for The Estates at Town & Country Crossing subdivision at 1000 to 1272 Town & Country Crossing Drive. The development would be built by Pulte Homes of St. Louis LLC.

Homes would range in size from about 2,900 to 4,500 square feet. Smaller homes on the northern part of the site would average $400,000 in cost, and larger homes on the south end would average $600,000, said George Stock, president of Stock and Associates Consulting Engineers, which represents Pulte.

A so-called 'savannah" — a 3.25 acre common ground area — would be left open on the northwestern end of the site, and would include trails that would be maintained by the homeowners association.

Stock said homes along Clayton would sit about a story lower than that roadway. A lake with fountain on the eastern end of the site would provide stormwater detention.

During a June 22 public hearing, some members of the city's Planning and Zoning Commission unsuccessfully asked that a line of demarcation, such as a low wall, be installed between the homes' back yards and the savannah area to prevent homeowners from putting anything like a swingset or garden on common ground and to prevent anyone on the common ground trails from wandering into back yards.

But others insisted the taller prairie type grass in the savannah would serve that demarcation purpose. Mayor Jon Dalton said he feared a wall could "trap us into poor taste and bad design."

Meyland-Smith praised overall efforts to use this site for homes.

"It was through an extraordinary effort of the city and developer that residential is being allowed here, and I'm delighted with this opportunity," he said.