A plan to bring high-end homes to a new neighborhood just outside of Franklin has been revived, but city officials have questions about the project.
Timbercreek, planned at State Road 44 and Centerline Road, would add 13 to 15 homes on 142 acres along with a church, with home prices that could top $2 million, said Franklin attorney Steve Huddleston, who is representing the developers.
The development was first proposed in 2016 but was withdrawn after the county health department raised some concerns about the project. But those concerns have since been addressed, he said.
The neighborhood is located in the buffer zone of the city of Franklin, and the developers need approval from the city to rezone the land from agricultural to rural residential, allowing for up to one home per acre.
But city officials have raised concerns about the project, including whether it fits with the city’s master plan for future development.
The city’s planning department gave the development an unfavorable recommendation, raising concerns about infrastructure since the plan is to have those homes use wells and septic tanks because city water and sewer services have not been extended to that area, and that the city’s master plan would leave that area agricultural due to the need to preserve farmland, according to the city’s report.
City officials want to make sure every development is the right fit for the city and fits into the master plan, Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett said.
Questions about infrastructure, such as the lack of sewer service and whether roads would be constructed in the neighborhood, should also be answered before moving forward, he said.
The unfavorable recommendation came as a surprise, and developers asked that the proposal be delayed from going to the city’s planning commission for a month in order to respond to the city’s report, Huddleston said.
Developers still want to do the project and know there is a need for it in the city, he said.
The homes that would be built would range in price from $750,000 to $2 million or more, and would add options for homes that Franklin currently does not have, he said. The developers have done marketing studies and come up with a marketing plan because they know there is a demand for the homes, he said.
According to plans filed with the city, the homes would be at least 2,000 square feet, each with a two-car garage and would have 100 percent brick or stone on the first floor, with only high quality vinyl siding allowed on the second floor.
The change in zoning isn’t a significant difference from agricultural, Huddleston said. For example, the developers are not looking to add hundreds of homes, he said.
And concerns about infrastructure, such as whether septic tanks and wells can be put into the area, already have been worked out with the county, Huddleston said.
Huddleston is hopeful the project can move forward, he said.
If the project is approved by the city, it still would need approvals from the county before any construction could begin since it is located in the county’s jurisdiction.
