FAIRLEE — The Development Review Board unanimously approved a proposal for a housing and retail development on Main Street during its meeting last week.
The plan calls for the construction of two, three-story buildings containing 22 one- and two-bedroom apartments and four retail spaces at the site of the old Colby Block.
The roughly $6.4 million development, called The Denison, will be located on a roughly half-acre of land on the corner of Route 5, also known in Fairlee as Main Street, and Bridge Street.
Jonah Richard, who owns Appleseed Development with three other partners, asked the board for site plan approval at a meeting in August. Board members asked Richard to come back with more information about the project, including the septic design and the size of a rooftop deck.
After Richard provided that information during a Sept. 10 meeting, the Development Review Board approved the project. Richard has previously said he hopes to begin construction next summer.
The project will need permits for water use from the Fairlee Selectboard, a wastewater design permit from the state Agency of Natural Resources and a state Agency of Transportation permit to create a driveway onto Route 5 before they can break ground, Fairlee Zoning Administrator Chris Brimmer said in a Thursday phone interview.