One business is preparing to move and another has recently sold its property to the city, making way for a plan to remake a part of downtown Franklin.
The city of Franklin is buying more than 10 acres of land along Jackson Street, south of Jefferson Street, near Youngs Creek.
Currently, the area is home to Bastin-Logan Water Services, which is building a new facility in the city’s industrial area, and Recovery One Wrecker Service, which recently finalized the city’s purchase of about four acres of land.
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Once those businesses are relocated, the city can begin work to clear the property and turn it into greenspace, which could one day be the site of festivals with an amphitheater, and trails and park areas that families can visit.
A large portion of the property is in the floodplain along the creek, and the businesses have flooded more than once.
Bastin-Logan has flooded twice in recent years, with more than 5 feet of water entering the building in 2008, president Joe Paszek said.
Now, the well drilling and pump company is planning to move to a new location it is building along Hurricane Road at Eastview Drive, where the city is building a roundabout to better accommodate semi-truck traffic.
The property has more space, since it is not in danger of flooding, and will move the company out of downtown Franklin, making it easier to move heavy equipment, he said. Site preparation has started.
Bastin-Logan started more than 35 years ago and has stayed at that location ever since. But the company doesn’t need to be downtown, and being closer to the city’s truck route will be more convenient, he said. The company provides municipal and industrial water well drilling, pump and water plant services.
Work has started on the new site, which officials hope to move into by October, he said.
Paszek is excited to see what the city will do with the property, which will make the land useful even though it floods, he said.
Earlier this year, the Franklin Redevelopment Commission approved spending about $900,000 to buy more than 10 acres of property from Bastin-Logan, Recovery One and property that used to be the site of Hendershot Plumbing.
The plan was to move the businesses out of the downtown area to help with water retention, by giving water greenspace to flow to, instead of flooding businesses, and also get some heavy vehicle traffic out of downtown Franklin.
At the same time, the land could be used for events and festivals.
Mayor Steve Barnett initiated the process after heavy rains in July 2017 as a voluntary option for businesses that flood. No timeline has been set for construction of the greenspace, but the city plans to build a parking lot on some of the property this fall or next spring.
