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Factory at Franklin redevelopment: Holiday proposes 120-room hotel, 250-space garage and phased parking strategy to ease downtown congestion
Summary
Holiday Properties presented a revised Factory at Franklin development plan on March 11 that includes a 120-room hotel, a new roughly 250-space parking garage and staged parking improvements designed to protect historic assets while increasing parking capacity for events.
Holiday Properties and Factory at Franklin representatives presented revisions to the Factory at Franklin PUD on March 11, describing a phased plan to add a 120-room hotel and a roughly 250-space parking garage, adjust parking and circulation, and preserve the site’s historic facades.
Greg Gamble (Holiday/Factory representative) outlined the master plan: a low-profile hotel façade aligned with the historic factory, an internal Paseo pedestrian connection, underground detention replacing an existing stormwater basin, and a mix of parking types (approximately 39% under-building, 23% carport, 13% on-street parallel and 25% surface). The applicant proposed a phased construction sequence in which the parking garage is built early (phase 1b) and later phases rework surface lots to maintain a net parking surplus during construction.
Staff and applicants discussed a shared-parking analysis submitted for the entire Factory campus, which argued the proposed reduced parking is sufficient when peak demands of varied uses are considered. City staff noted the study aligns with practices used in Berry Farms and McEwen Town Center. Several board members raised event-day and Saturday demand concerns; the applicant said a shuttle arrangement with nearby schools currently runs on Saturdays and could be subsidized by the applicant for large events.
Board members and planning staff discussed signal timing and coordination for a proposed signalized Daniels Drive/Liberty Pike intersection. Traffic consultant Megan Sigler (KCI Technologies) said weekday warrants are met and the signal would likely operate 24/7; staff said coordinated timing with adjacent signals would be required to minimize weekday delays. The board asked staff to explore signal phasing options (for example, flashing or adaptive modes at off-peak times).
Historic zoning and design elements were discussed: the hotel height steps from two to three stories in line with the existing gable, Building 9’s façade is retained while a pool is proposed inside the existing volume, and a raised concrete pad will be replaced with a courtyard. Planning commission had recommended approval of MOSs and the plan.
No formal votes were recorded in the work session transcript; the applicant and staff concluded by agreeing to continue coordination on signal timing, parking and phased construction details before returning to the board for formal action.
