Established in 2005, St. Louis Life is a registered Missouri nonprofit corporation with 501(c)3 status from the IRS. St. Louis Life was founded by Robert J. Trulaske, Jr., a parent with a young adult son with Down syndrome after finding no post-secondary, residential programs in the Midwest for Chris and others with similar needs. A site in the Winghaven community in O'Fallon, MO was identified as an ideal location for the program. The Lawrence Group, an architectural firm based in St. Louis, was selected to coordinate the building design process and the O’Fallon-based Paric Corporation was hired as the general contractor. Groundbreaking occurred in August 2006 for the construction of one residential building comprised of 16 apartments and a commons building. Construction was completed in May 2007. Program staff were hired in June 2007 and St. Louis Life’s first resident began the program in July 2007.