A demolition crew working this week in downtown Franklin is making way for an $11 million mixed-use development to include high-end condos, townhomes, restaurants and retail.
Several homes and the former Newkirk’s Auto Service are being torn down in a half-block of Wayne Street, between Water and Main streets, to make way for the development from the Bemis Group. The project, dubbed Newkirk Square, an homage to Newkirk’s legacy, will include a mixed-use building that will cover the west side of the property and 10 townhomes.
Before the demolition, a Victorian home formerly at 50 E. Wayne Street was relocated to the corner of Madison and Crowell streets by Franklin Heritage. Good condition, historic elements of other homes on the half-block were also salvaged to be repurposed by other homeowners.
The mixed-use building will cover 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 building will include up to seven spaces for restaurants and shops and 25 condo units. The units will be two or three bedrooms with about 1,300 to 1,900 square feet of living space.
The townhomes, to be located on the east side of the property, will be built first and are expected to be ready for occupancy by the end of next year, said Billy Bemis, who co-owns the Bemis Group with his brother, Todd Bemis.
The townhomes will start at $450,000, and each will include a ground floor two-car attached garage and two floors of living space. Some could cost more than $500,000, depending on interior customization.
Covenants attached to both the condos and townhomes will require them to be owner-occupied.
The city of Franklin earlier this year sold a small parking lot at 199 S. Main Street to the Bemis Group for $5,000, with the promise that the development would be complete within three years. Newkirk’s and homeowners sold their properties prior to that.
Nearby residents raised concerns about parking at the Franklin Board of Zoning Appeals last week. But city officials and Bemis do not expect the project to create a parking problem.
The lot the city sold them had just nine parking spots, but about 300 additional spots are being added at the amphitheater that is under construction just west of Newkirk Square. Townhome owners will have two-car garages, and condo-owners will park in the underground garage. There will be three guest parking spots available for the townhomes, street parking on three sides of the development and other city lots nearby, Billy Bemis said.
Townhome and condo units both have waiting lists and are expected to sell out fast once they hit the market. There has been a lot of interest in the development since it was announced early this year, he said.
Following the demolition and clean-up of the site, crews will begin to prepare the site for construction this fall. Construction could start this winter or next spring, weather permitting, with the townhomes ready for occupancy next fall, Bemis said.
Construction of the mixed-use building will start once the townhomes are about 70% complete. No restaurant or retail tenants are under contract yet. The Bemis Group plans to be “choosy” and select only businesses that will add to the neighborhood and not disrupt the upstairs neighbors, he said.
