‘How do we grow responsibly?’: Developers plan to expand into Franklin agricultural zones
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The city of Franklin, Tennessee welcomes new residents every day. To manage growth, the city could expand into agricultural zones.
“We’ve watched it change a lot,” longtime Franklin resident Lyndal Church said. “It’s a beautiful spot.”
“I would like to see it keep the small-town charm like it can grow but not get too crazy and too overwhelming,” Franklin Resident Collette said.
Nine minutes from the downtown Franklin community, Westhaven has expanded into a shopping and living facility, and the growth is continuing.
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Across the street, just off of New Highway 96 West, is a stretch of farmland along a two-lane road, but developers are working to make the 192 acres an agricultural hub known as Armistead.
“We are a highly sought-after community in Franklin and Middle Tennessee in general,” Craige Hoover, Founder and Principal of Ha Ha Development, said. People are coming, and so how do we grow responsibly?”
“This is an opportunity for both Franklin to celebrate its agricultural history and also solve a pretty pressing housing problem,” Hoover added.
The agricultural neighborhood would feature 807 dwelling units, a 75-key hotel, and over 50% of land maintained as open space.
“We will have orchards and vegetables and grazing and all sorts of regenerative farming as well,” Hoover explained. “Cause the idea is to really maintain the soil and do a diverse array of crop and livestock.”
“The idea is that this will be a food hub, an agri-hood. So we grow everything we eat as much as possible and distribute our produce throughout the community,” Hoover added.
The Short family has lived and owned the Westbrook farm for 137 years. But the family’s farming generation dwindled, leaving the family to decide how to mix modern urban planning with traditional farming values.
“They saw where development pressure was, and they were like, ‘How do we come up with a plan to develop this land but still farming legacy?'” Hoover described.
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Franklin residents told News 2 that the added growth to the zoned agricultural area has pros and cons.
“It is that small town feel that I guess I could say is getting taken away,” Franklin Resident Murray said.
Others say this means more people are welcome into the community.
“And the families, it’s neat and singles,” Church said. “The mixture here is neat.”
The developers presented the layout and plan to the Franklin board Thursday night. Hoover said that if everything goes according to plan, development could be completed in early 2027.
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