Town Manager Roger Stancil signed off on the Village Plaza Apartments plan on Thursday, paving the way for a new mixed-use development near Whole Foods on Elliot Road.

The project will bring a six-story building with 265 apartments, ground-floor retail and a parking deck to the vacant three acre lot that formerly housed the Plaza Theater.

It will be the town’s first project under the new form-based code approved by the council last May.

Within the 190 acre Ephesus-Fordham district, developers do not need to submit their projects for review by the Town Council if they meet the criteria laid out in the code. Instead, the town manager can issue permits once the plans have been vetted by the Community Design Commission.

The Village Plaza Apartment plan was submitted in September, reviewed by the Community Design Commission in October, and then briefly delayed while developers tweaked the plan. Now that full approval has been granted, construction could begin in the next few months.

A second application has been submitted to the town for a plan to demolish the former Red Hot and Blue restaurant to make way for more parking. Town officials say they also expect to receive an application from CVS at Ram’s Plaza later this month.

The Town Council will hear a progress update on the Ephesus-Fordham revitalization plan on January 26.

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