Plans for Another Mixed-Use Cool Springs Project Announced

Crescent Communities unveiled plans for Bigby, a mixed-use project in Cool Springs.

At the intersection of McEwen Drive and Carothers Parkway, Bigby’s 350,000 square feet of commercial office and retail space, 330 luxury apartments, 15 townhomes and a 200-room hotel will create a live, work and play complex.

“For the last two years, we’ve listened closely to what the City of Franklin wants for its future through direct dialog with residents, businesses and elected officials that further culminated in the creation and adoption of the Envision Franklin long-range vision plan,” said Brian Leary, President of Crescent Communities’ Commercial/Mixed-Use (CMU) business. “Concurrently, we’ve been hearing from the market that walkable, mixed-use and amenity-laden destinations are what they need and where they are going to best retain and recruit the talent they need to succeed. We believe Bigby is the deliberate answer to both.”

To help ensure Bigby is truly reflective of Franklin, Crescent is partnering with locals on all aspects of the community.

“We are always excited to be involved in opportunities that will enhance our community. But Bigby is really special. We were given an amazing opportunity to help shape a place in our own backyard where our families and friends will go to live, work and play,” said Eric Klotz, principal at Nashville-based architectural firm ESa. “As designers, we believe great architecture depends to a great degree on the level of client engagement, and the passion and expertise Crescent brings to the table is enabling us to deliver some of our best work.”

As the final phase of a master plan, Bigby caps off more than a decade of development by Crescent in the Cool Springs submarket. Once complete, it will total approximately 1.8 million sq. ft. of office and retail space, 200 hotel rooms and more than 1,000 apartments and townhomes. This will create a larger live, work, play environment that enhances overall walkability and provides much-needed services, residences, amenities, open space and an alternative office environment to the neighborhood – all connected through a network of thoughtfully-designed trails and sidewalks.

“Design landscapes should tell the story of the land and create authentic spaces that reflect and honor the natural beauty of our region. We are thrilled with the opportunity to be a part of Bigby because one of the central tenets is to blend the built environment with the natural landscape in a way that will resonate with people,” said Richie Jones, a partner at landscape architecture firm Hodgson Douglas. “We share a common goal of creating a place to live, work and play that seamlessly meshes the built with natural. Through a series of thoughtful design moves we will enhance the experience by creating meaningful exterior spaces that work in concert with the vertical architecture, creating spaces that are not only beautiful, sustainable and flexible, but that also tell the story of our treasured Middle Tennessee landscape.”

“Bigby is a truly unique and authentic project, and we are thrilled to be a part of it,” said Jason Holwerda, vice president and Nashville market leader for Foundry Commercial. “I have been fortunate to be a part of the fabric of this community and watch this Cool Springs market evolve into what it is today. This is the next step in that evolution. Crescent has taken the time to listen to the community, employers, families and guests of Franklin and came up with a project that will transform the way Cool Springs thinks about a mixed-use environment.”