Franklin staff reports 2025 development activity: 6,658 permits, $865 million construction value

Catherine, presenting the quarterly development activity report, summarized the city’s 2025 permitting and construction metrics. She said staff issued 1,057 building permits and 5,022 trade permits in 2025 for a total of 6,658 permits, and collected just under $2.5 million in permit fees. Impact fee collections included $6.3 million in road impact fees, just over $1 million in water impact fees and about $4.7 million in sewer impact fees; facilities tax receipts were just under $2 million.

Catherine said the city permitted approximately 239 new single‑family dwelling units, 39 townhome units and about 520 multifamily units in 2025 (roughly 798 new permitted dwelling units total). She told the board the combined construction value of residential permits was about $278.9 million and nonresidential permits about $586.3 million, for a 2025 total construction value of approximately $865.2 million. Catherine noted changes in impact fee totals over the decade reflect the mix of development types and, for sewer, a methodology change that took effect Jan. 1, 2024.

Board members praised the predictable process and asked for improvements to public communication tools; one alderman asked staff to include ward filters in the city’s growth‑communications dashboard so residents can quickly see projects by ward. Blake Marsh (building and neighborhood services director) clarified that construction values used in the report are based on industry cost tables updated annually by the International Code Council and applicants’ reported construction costs.