Betting on the strength of the growing microbrewery trend, a trio of Scarborough residents is planning to open a new brewery and pub in the town’s Eight Corners neighborhood.

In its early stages, the project received a positive reception from the Planning Board, which held a sketch plan review on Monday.

Lee Allen, vice president of Northeast Civil Solutions, the firm guiding the project through the planning process, told the Current the goal is for the brewery and pub to receive final approval in February and be open sometime in the fall of 2016.

Called Nonesuch River Brewing, the project would actually consist of two separate operations under the same ownership, Allen said. It would also be only a mile from the popular Sebago Brewing Co. restaurant on Southborough Drive.

The new brewery and 140-seat pub restaurant is the brainchild of Tim Boardman, Michael Schuler and Jeff Gambardella. Allen said Boardman is a local builder and carpenter, Schuler is a home brewer and real estate agent and Gambardella is a chef.

Allen said the business plan for Nonesuch River Brewing would be for the brewery to only brew for the attached restaurant and pub initially. Once the beer builds an audience and the demand is there, it may then begin to brew for outside sales.

The pub and restaurant would take up the majority of the new, 5,200-square-foot building, which would take the place of a rundown single-family home at 201 Gorham Road.

Planning Board members said Monday they are thrilled with the idea of new development going in at that spot, long considered an eyesore near the busy Eight Corners intersection.

The 2.2-acre property is under contract. The listing price for the site, which also includes a detached garage and shed, was $225,000, while the town put the assessed value at $256,000.

Allen could not say how much the Nonesuch River Brewing team paid for the property, but did say there is a purchase and sales agreement in place.

While the property is in a zone that allows for commercial development, it abuts a residential zone, which will require significant landscaped buffering for the brewery and pub.

In addition to the buffering concerns, the Planning Board also mentioned turning traffic, outdoor lighting, signage, noise and the number of parking spots the project team is requesting as additional issues to be discussed in more detail.

In his presentation to the board Monday, Allen said the expectation is that the brewery and pub “will be successful and very busy” so there will be a need for between 50 to 60 parking spots.

However, he added, the site is challenging because of a stream that flows through it. Right now, the plan is for the parking to be near the front of the site, an idea Planning Board member Susan Auglis said she hopes could be revisited.

The plan is to construct a post-and-beam building with a metal roof, several cupolas and a second-floor mezzanine and outdoor balcony. The exterior would be sided with clapboard. The design goal is having the building look like a traditional New England barn.

A glass partition would separate the pub restaurant from the brewery, which would allow patrons to view the brewery workings while dining. The mezzanine level would also include a lounge and other seating, according to the presentation to the Planning Board.

While she had some general concerns about the project layout, Auglis said, “I’m so glad to see this coming to Scarborough, particularly where you’re going” to be located.

Board member Roger Beeley agreed. He called the brewery project “terrific and exciting.”

Ronald Mazer, another member, said he’s glad the area is being developed.

“It’s been a sore spot for many years,” he said.

Corey Fellows, chairman of the Planning Board, said that while the site constraints are causing “special consideration,” he also said the project has “a lot of promise and I’m looking forward to seeing more details.”

Allen said he would submit a site plan application for the brewery and pub restaurant by Dec. 21 and hopes the project will be on the Planning Board agenda for its meeting in mid-January, with final approval at the February meeting.

A traffic study is now under way and the project also requires a permit from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, he said.

This rundown, single-family home on Gorham Road in Scarborough could be razed for a new microbrewery and pub restaurant if the project receives approval from the town.