An $11 million mixed-use development could bring high-end condos, townhomes, restaurants and retail to downtown Franklin by the end of 2023.
Local developer Bemis Group cleared a hurdle Tuesday morning when the Franklin Redevelopment Commission approved its proposal to buy a small city parking lot at 199 S. Main Street for $5,000, clearing the way for a major development that — for brothers Billy and Todd Bemis — is years in the making.
The redevelopment commission agreed unanimously to sell the lot, pending an agreement between Bemis and the city that the developer would pay the remaining $49,000 the property is worth if the project is not done in three years. The Bemis Group already owns several surrounding properties, including nearby houses and Newkirk’s Auto Service, which recently closed its doors.
Bemis on Friday submitted the project plans after the city sought development proposals for the public parking lot south of the courthouse square. Bemis was the only developer to submit a proposal by the deadline, city officials said.
Bemis Group has a 30-year history in Johnson County. Its projects include several in downtown Franklin: the Garment Factory Event Center, the Greek’s Pizzeria and Brewpub building and the Hazelet building, which houses several businesses including the Daily Journal’s office. In nearby Greenwood, the Bemis Group developed Airport Parkway Plaza.
The developer has, so far, spent two years and $1 million to prepare for the project, with more than half of that spent to acquire several houses and Newkirk’s Auto on Wayne Street, between Water Street and Main Street, Billy Bemis said.
The project, dubbed Newkirk Square, an homage to Newkirk’s Franklin legacy, will include a mixed-use building which will cover the west side of the property. It will feature 10,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space on the first floor, 14 condos on the second and third floors and a 28-space underground parking garage exclusively for condo-owners.
The retail space will include up to seven spaces for restaurants and shops, including a new-concept restaurant or two from Bemis Group partner, Kwang Casey, who operates Oaken Barrel Brewing Company and the Garment Factory, Bemis said.
Eleven rear-entry townhomes, which will be located on the east side of the property, will include two-car attached garages on the lower level, and two floors of living space above.
Both the condos and townhomes are expected to start at $450,000. Some could cost more than $500,000, depending on interior customization. The 25 units will likely be two or three bedrooms and about 1,300 to 1,900 square feet, Bemis said.
Covenants attached to both the condos and townhomes will require them to be owner-occupied.
The Bemis Group spent the past several years preparing for the project after they went a different direction than initially intended with the Garment Factory, Bemis said.
“When the Garment Factory was first proposed, there were provisions for condos and we’ve been asked, ‘where are the condos?’ We can’t produce them, it just wasn’t there,” Billy Bemis said. “But there is demand among clientele who come to the Garment Factory on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are interested in downtown living, the walkability. They want to walk to get a cup of coffee, to go to restaurants … It is desirable.”
The development is expected to bode well with older wealthy people from White River Township and nearby cities such as Indianapolis and Columbus who would like to live in Franklin but can’t find high-end, low-maintenance housing on the real estate market, according to the developers’ research.
Those in the group’s target market want a smaller, stylish place downtown with garage parking and no lawn to mow. At least 10 couples have already expressed interest in buying one of the units, Bemis said.
“We know that downtown Franklin living is a commodity. People are knocking on doors; people are sending letters trying to move into this area because of everything that is going on,” Billy Bemis said. “This will not only serve our current businesses … our goal and our history is to bring in typically new tenants or new tenants into the downtown mix.”
Both the mixed-use building and townhomes are designed to blend in with existing downtown buildings, many of which are historic. The group had its architects take a tour of downtown Franklin to establish a baseline for the design, he said.
The city knew a project was in the works, but didn’t know the full scope of it, or if any others would be proposed, Mayor Steve Barnett said.
The redevelopment commission did not see the proposal before Tuesday, and accepted it after a brief discussion. Members went back and forth about whether protections were needed in case the project does not come to fruition. The commission settled on Bemis paying for the lot in full — $54,050 — if the project is not substantially completed by the end of 2023.
Redevelopment commission members expressed support for the project. Barnett said it will be good fit for Franklin.
“I think it is pretty obvious that this a great project for Franklin. Somebody asked me the other day if I think that this will change the hometown feel. But I think this is going to add to that. People have been asking for this,” Barnett said.
Franklin’s planning department gets frequent inquiries about downtown real estate — some people are looking for homes for sale, and others are asking about converting a home to a retail store, said Joanna Myers, a senior city planner. The project would help fill both gaps, she said.
City officials do not expect the project to create a parking problem. The lot that is being sold has just nine parking spots, and about 300 additional spots are being added at the amphitheater that is under construction just west of Newkirk Square, Barnett said.
Some street parking will also be added along the development’s borders to serve customers and guests of residents, but it is not clear how many spots will be added until plans are finalized, Bemis said.
Next, the development will go before the city’s plan commission, and a portion of the property will need to be rezoned from mixed-use to multi-family housing for the townhomes, Myers said.
Once Bemis secures the parking lot, it will have all the property it needs to make the development possible, Bemis said.
“I think it is a hurdle that we needed to pass for the development to get underway,” Billy Bemis said. “It is going to make for a better, more complete project for the city.”
The redevelopment commission gave the Bemis Group $1.4 million from a Franklin tax-increment financing, or TIF, district to redevelop the Garment Factory, but Bemis said it will not seek any taxpayer incentives for Newkirk Square. The group and its partners intend to fully fund the project, Billy Bemis said.
Bemis hopes to have plans submitted to the city’s plan commission in the next 60 days and start construction this spring.
