1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
6. Harpeth Square
The nearly square-block mixed-use project held a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct 23rd, and developer Harpeth Associates has wasted no time getting to work since.
The project, on the north side of Main Street between First and Second Avenues North, will add to downtown Franklin square block of downtown development. Plans include a 119-room Hilton Curio hotel designed by world famous hotel designer Euan McGlashen, 150 LEED Gold Certified apartments with hotel amenities, and along the street 15,000-square feet of retail space and 3,606-square feet of office space. The heart of the block, spanning First and Second Avenues and Main and Bridge Streets, will be a 597-space parking garage, 197 of which will be open to the public.
Roderick Heller, the head of Harpeth Associates, said the project was more than five years in the making and still will be several years before it builds out. The parking garage, the first part to be built, and the hotel could come online sometime next year.
Plans and Architectural Renderings:
Heller took several years buying up all the various plots, and entered the city of Franklin planning process more than two years ago. The project gained its first approval from city hall in May 2015 when the Historic Zoning Commission gave it an initial go-ahead. Heller bought the first lot– there are 10 in the project’s footprint– four years ago.
Harpeth Square has also started taking reservations for the apartments, which will be three-story buildings and make up much of the facade along Bridge Street, First Ave. and Main Street. Shops will be on the first floor facing Main Street toward First Avenue.
They break down into 14 three-bedroom, 71 two-bedroom and 65 one-bedroom units.
The hotel, which will front Second Avenue, will be a Hilton Curio, which produces unique, high-end hotels, in partnership with Atlanta’s Valor Hospitality. Its head, Euan McGlashen, is known for developing the Cape Grace hotel in Cape Town, noted by many travel sites as one of the best hotels in the world.
“In the U.S., most reservations come over a brand system,” Heller said. “Having a brand also facilitates financing, and a brand can help negotiate with travel aggregators.”
The two existing buildings in the project’s footprint – 198 East Main Street and 121 Second Avenue – have already been leased until 2019 and 2020. Depending on the market conditions, Harpeth Associates might redevelop those properties.
