Local developer Elliott Chamberlain has long dreamed of creating a village-style neighborhood in the Dunstan area of Scarborough. Now that dream is coming closer to reality.

During a Planning Board meeting Monday, Chamberlain laid out an initial sketch plan for Dunstan Village, a new mixed-use development off Route 1 that would connect with his Dunstan Crossing housing development, which is accessed off Broadturn Road.

The new Dunstan Village would combine residential uses with retail, professional offices and an anchor restaurant, according to Chamberlain. The village would also include a central town square that would connect to a public garden. The housing options would include one-bedroom apartments, live/work studios and townhouse-style units.

Following Monday’s meeting Jay Chace, Scarborough’s senior planner, said the Planning Board “generally liked the concept plan” for Dunstan Village and “is pretty excited” about the project.

While Chace said Chamberlain has made “a good start,” there are still a number of steps to go through before the project receives final approval.

He said that Chamberlain is required to go through Planned Development Review, which is “designed to be a deliberate and measured approach” to the development process.

Chace said that Chamberlain has three steps he must go through before receiving the final go ahead from the Planning Board. Those steps are providing a site inventory analysis, a master plan and a final site plan, which Chace described as “the meat and potatoes” of the overall development scheme.

He said that Chamberlain would likely need to do a traffic study, as well as a stormwater analysis, and collect other data before the Planning Board would approve the Dunstan Village project.

Despite the tiered approach to the Planned Development Review, Chace said it would be possible for Chamberlain to get through the approval process this summer, depending on how quickly he provides the town with the needed information.

The development would be accessed by a new road, called Stewart Drive, which would be built somewhere between Scarborough Fish & Lobster and Seacoast Signs. The entrance would be landscaped and include a fieldstone sign, similar to the entrance to Dunstan Crossing.

Dunstan Village would be built on 7.7 acres of land and could include as many as 56 units, with special Planning Board permission, according to the information provided to the board before Monday’s meeting.

While Chamberlain acknowledged that this week’s meeting with the Planning Board is just an initial step in a longer process, he also said it’s possible that he would break ground on Stewart Drive and the anchor restaurant sometime this year.

Chamberlain said his development plans for the acreage he owns in Dunstan “always included a non-residential component.” And with the first three phases of the Dunstan Crossing project nearly built out and sold, now is the right time to move on the mixed use Dunstan Village.

Chamberlain would not say what restaurant is interested in anchoring the retail center at Dunstan Village, but said he’s “working on a deal” and that the new eatery could be open as early as next spring.

His goal is to get Dunstan Village approved in concept and then to go back to the Planning Board for specific site plan approval of each new building he puts up.

Unlike Dunstan Crossing, where Chamberlain could sell lots before the housing was built, he said prospective mixed-use tenants like to “touch and feel” before they sign on, which means he would likely need to build before any leasing agreements are signed.

He said Chamberlain Homes, his development company, might hold on to at least one of the apartment buildings, while he might sell the development rights to the other housing units to interested property management companies.

In order to build his planned 36-unit apartment building, though, Chamberlain would need a variance or a zone change. He’s unsure which tack he might take, but said a zone change could be beneficial to other properties in Dunstan, not just his own.

Chamberlain said Dunstan Crossing is now 40 to 45 percent complete. He has approval for a total of 288 units, but said it’s likely the development would end up at around 260.

He broke ground on Dunstan Crossing about six years ago, and said with the addition of Dunstan Village the whole development is “absolutely becoming what I first envisioned.”

Chamberlain added that Dunstan Village is located in a “great little area with a good traffic count,” and said it would be “a huge plus for all of Dunstan.”

The goal with Dunstan Crossing was to provide different types of housing at different price points to attract a more diverse population, and Chamberlain said this week the development has “accomplished those goals.”

“We have differing housing at different prices for every type of buyer,” he said.

According to the Dunstan Crossing website, the development offers, “tree-lined streets, friendly front porches and walking trails (to) create a unique lifestyle. This type of living offers you a sense of community through interaction with neighbors while at the same time meeting individual needs of privacy.”

The website adds, “Come live in a neighborhood where you can walk to services and amenities (and) enjoy the peacefulness of parks and open spaces.”

Dunstan Crossing offers condos and single-family homes in a variety of styles including townhouse-style, row homes and duplex-style. In addition, stand-alone single-family homes can be built on small, intimate lots or on a more traditional large acreage house lot.

The new entrance to Dunstan Village, off Route 1, would look similar to this landscaped entrance to the Dunstan Crossing housing development off Broadturn Road.Staff photo by Kate Irish CollinsThe Dunstan Crossing housing development consists of homes closer to the road, with front porches, to facilitate a feeling of community. Staff photo by Kate Irish Collins