A proposal to build a six-townhome development behind an historic Bainbridge home on Ericksen Avenue received an enthusiastic thumbs up from the city’s Design Review Board last week.

The development, proposed by Wing Point Properties, would see the construction of six new condominium townhomes on the same parcel as the historic Henry Groos House.

The project would be built at 568 Ericksen Ave., and would not be stalled by the city’s current moratorium on development.

A hearing has been tentatively set for Jan. 10.

The site plan was unanimously approved by the Design Review Board at its meeting last week, and members could find little wrong with the proposal.

They did ask, however, that a few windows be added to the signature tower-like architectural element on one of the townhomes nearest the street, and that deciduous trees in the landscaping plan be interspersed with evergreen trees.

The property sits on the east side of Ericksen Avenue, between a commercial business development to the north and residential homes to the south.

The development is expected to add 66 average weekday trips to local streets, according to a traffic analysis conducted by the consultant firm of Heath & Associates.

John Bierly, president of Wing Point Properties, said the condo development would fit within the regulations of the Ericksen Avenue Overlay District, and the historical cottage on the site, built in 1905, would be retained.

The housing would be middle income homes, priced in the high $600,000 range.

Bierly noted the median price of homes currently for sale on Bainbridge is $894,000.

“We’ll be well under that,” he said.

The development scheme has changed since the property was eyed for redevelopment. The original proposal featured an access drive along the southern property line, but the new driveway was relocated to run through the center of the property, which would allow for a greater view corridor into the nearby Winslow Ravine.

Along with the existing home, which has been added to the local historic register, the development will also keep in the place the orchard that has been on site since the turn of the century.

Bierly also noted that an existing Japanese conifer tree on the property, a rare specimen for Bainbridge, would not be cut down. And existing gravel trails on the back end of the property will be retained but replaced with a chipped-wood surface.

Design Review Board Chairman Alan Grainger praised Bierly for being receptive to the board’s input as the project was repeatedly reviewed.

“All the way through this. It’s my thinking that you have listened very carefully to what we have said and you have come up with an exemplary solution,” Grainger said.

Grainger said the project could be an example of the type of infill development that fits both with mixed-use zoning as well as the overlay regulations that protect the historic Ericksen neighborhood.

Other board members agreed, and asked that the firm’s presentation and materials be made available to others pursuing development proposals for the area.

Members of the board complimented the scale and intimacy of the project, as well as a design that limited the amount of impervious surface such as driveways, as being a perfect fit for Ericksen Avenue.

DRB Member Peter Perry agreed, and said the condos “should sell like hot cakes.”