The Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday approved a developer's proposal to replace the Tom English Bar and the Dorchester Market with a five-story apartment complex - with room for the market, but not the bar, to move back into.

Adam Sarbaugh wants to build 38 apartments - 5 rented as affordable - 26 parking spaces and room for both the market and a new restaurant. Sarbaugh's attorney, Joe Hanley, told the board Sarbaugh would be seeking a "neighborhood restaurant" operator for the first floor of the $6-million building, one more focused on food than Tom English's is.

The BPDA board approved the proposal earlier this month.

In his application to the BPDA, Sarbaugh said the building would freshen up the block and provide a compelling model for anybody thinking of replacing other nearby structures:

"The building's massing is derived from a creative response to it's neighboring site context and urban conditions. ... The building's stepped form softens it's overall scale and relates to the adjacent 3 story developments. Further recessing the fourth and fifth floors pull the overall form off of the street edge and creates a height relationship with the neighboring DNA Lofts building. A palette of complementary facade materials is paired with numerous brick bonding techniques to develop a contemporary aesthetic that will serve as a compelling precedent for the area's current and future development."

Small-project review application (11.8M PDF).