Developers outline revised Ovation master plan for Franklin, adding 27 acres, central park and mixed uses

Greg Gamble, a land planner and landscape architect with the Ovation design team, and Alec Chambers, a market leader with Highwoods Properties, presented a revised master plan for the Ovation site east of Interstate 65 during a City of Franklin neighborhood meeting.

The developers said the updated plan adds 27 acres inside Ovation Parkway to the previously approved 77.7‑acre master plan, creating a 104‑acre overall plan that preserves the project’s existing entitlements while changing where some uses will be located. "We are finally ready to move forward," Chambers said, describing a multi‑phase project planned with development partner CenterCal.

The nut graf: the plan places a two‑acre Central Park at the heart of the site, anchors street‑front retail and restaurants on ground floors, and blends office, hotel and residential uses above. It also identifies a 29‑acre mountain‑bike park, an 11‑acre urban wetland with boardwalks and interpretive signage, and limits maximum building height in the RC‑12 zoning area to 12 stories.

Gamble said the Central Park will include an outdoor movie screen, a food hall and a grand lawn intended for programmed events. "The park is the hub of the proposed development…