A 45-unit condo development takes shape on the former winery property.

The vineyard is gone, but in its place will sprout a home-grown condominium development incorporating “green design,” a bistro, two ponds and 45 units that will range in price from “affordably” low to “penthouse” high.

“This is a project by local people with the purpose of building a small community,” said developer Bill Carruthers, who purchased the three-acre property last year from the Bentryn family, who now grow grapes and produce wine on Day Road. “It will be close to downtown and is for people who want to leave their cars at home, yet (the development) is separate, on its own.”

Ringed by the highway to the west, and the former John Nelson Park to the north, with Winslow ravine snaking by on the south and east edges, the Vineyard Lane development will be a “community within a community,” Carruthers said.

Two-story townhomes, single-family houses and 35 flats will face a central, south-sloping green with patios, grass and native vegetation. A stream will bisect the “community front yard,” connecting a new pond to an existing one at at the property’s southern edge.

A giant willow tree will be the namesake of a nearby bistro.

“The ‘Willow Bistro’ will be geared as the living room of the community,” said Carruthers’ business partner, Andrew Lonseth. “People can play chess with their neighbors, have a cup of coffee or relax and do nothing in front of the fireplace.”

The bistro area will include a small bed-and-breakfast available for residents’ family and friends to stay in.

The living units, to be designed and built by island architects and contractors, will range in size from 800 to 1,660 square feet. Prices will start at just over $300,000 and will price much higher for penthouse abodes with large rooftop gardens. The development will include six “affordable” housing units, but no purchase price has been set.

Despite the city’s recent repeal of its existing affordable housing ordinance, Lonseth said he and Carruthers opted to keep a few units that would meet the previous standard.

“We really believe there’s a need for affordable housing on the island and that we have a responsibility to provide that,” Lonseth said.

Vineyard Lane will also help the city reach its goals for increased non-motorized transportation. Carruthers has agreed to partner with the Department of Public Works for a pedestrian-and-bike path, separated from the highway by a small, landscaped strip that will connect to Winslow Way.

The project also will include a small bridge over the ravine for non-motorized travelers.

“It’s a win-win situation for the city and for us,” Carruthers said. “With the trail, it connects us very easily with downtown.”

The project will incorporate a number of sustainable design and construction practices. Earning the highest rating in the Kitsap County Home Builders Association’s Built Green program, portions of the property’s driveways and parking lots will feature permeable pavement that allows rainwater to soak through and filter to streams and aquifers.

Some dwellings will include recycled materials, such as used window trim. And more than 100 plants salvaged from the property will be replanted throughout the development.

Bittersweet grapes

While no fragile grapevines survived, Lonseth plans to plant some ornamental grapes to pay homage to the land’s history.

“That’s the heritage that came with it,” he said. “Our original idea was to keep some of the vineyard, but they didn’t like being transplanted and look ugly with nothing on them seven months out of the year. But the place will have a vineyard motif and some decorative grapes will add to the look.”

For Gerard Bentryn, who grew grapes on the property for nearly three decades, the changes taking shape at his former vineyard are bittersweet.

“It’s a logical use of the property,” he said. “It’s in close proximity to downtown and keeps growth and dense development in Winslow.”

Taxed out of the area by rising land values, Bentryn said he was forced to sell the property to save his wine-making business.

“It’s hard to look at that land now,” he said. “I lived there for 27 years. I made it a showplace and I didn’t want to sell it. But Bill (Carruthers) is doing a good job with it and has been very imaginative.

“But I don’t look at it when I go by. Maybe I’ll visit when it’s done.”

While some units will be available by December, Lonseth expects to finish the project by the spring of 2006. In the meantime, the project is taking a low-key approach toward marketing.

Unlike other new condo developments around Winslow, the project’s developers are hoping to sway mostly Bainbridge residents to move in.

“It’s easy to sell something that isn’t there yet, but we’re trying to wait until a certain point before putting out the info,” said Tim Bailey, an agent with Windermere Real Estate of Bainbridge Island who will market the project. “Right now, we’re focused on the project itself rather than using coffee (cup sleeves) and other promotions. Our primary market is the island, and we’re trying to do what suits locals.”

Bailey expects to begin taking reservations on a limited number of units beginning June 21. He is also putting the final touches on a comprehensive, image-loaded website set for launch by July.

Once they’re finished building Vineyard Lane, Lonseth and Carruthers will turn their attention to the adjacent John Nelson Park, which Carruthers obtained by handing over the old strawberry pier property on Eagle Harbor in a no-money trade with the city and park district.

Carruthers and Lonseth plan to convert the property – deeded to the city as a park in the 1950s but never improved for public use – into a senior housing development with a 1-acre pocket park for the public.

“The senior housing project is separate, but we know for sure it will be for seniors because there is a need for it,” Lonseth said. “But with both, we are trying to create a community that I and Bill would like to live in, while making a profit.

“We know the island and want to contribute to it… We’re trying to make a profit while having a community mindset.”