By Donna O’Neil, Managing Editor doneil@williamsonherald.com Williamson Herald
Recent ribbon cuttings, plans for two live-work communities in Williamson County’s largest cities and corporate headquarters locating in Williamson County are all signs the local economy is making a turn for the better.
NHC Place introduced the public to their expanded assisted living facility and new Aspen Arbor Memory Care Residence unit two weeks ago. The facility now provides care and residence for more than 270 senior and memory care patients.
There was a ceremonial ground breaking in February 2010, but plans for the project were compiled well before that. Only six years prior the facility opened it’s doors to the community as a “prototype” providing assisted living and long-term care on one campus. The facility has more than doubled in size since the doors were opened in 2004.
Late in May, Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty, along with County Mayor Rogers Anderson and Franklin Mayor Dr. Ken Moore, announced Carlisle Transportation Products, a new venture, would locate the company’s corporate headquarters in Franklin. At the time of the announcement the plans called for 28,000 square feet of office space in the McEwen Building, at West McEwen Drive and Mallory Lane in Franklin.
The Carlisle Transportation Products announcement follows several large scale relocations, most recently and notably Jackson Life Insurance, and retail expansions, including the newly opened Whole Foods Market and the planned opening in late summer of the 170-seat new Brixx Wood Fired Pizza restaurant.
Matt Largen, Director of the Office of Economic Development for Williamson County, said, “We are seeing an increase in activity and companies are starting to make decisions. In 2009 there was little activity and companies were not making decisions. That changed beginning in the third quarter of 2010. Now, there is significant activity and companies are moving forward with expansion, consolidation, and relocation plans. We have, fortunately, been the beneficiaries of those plans.”
He said, “So far this fiscal year, companies have announced plans to eventually add more than 2,000 jobs to the Williamson County economy. As I talk to my colleagues around the country I realize how fortunate we are to experience this kind of growth. No community our size has seen this level of dynamism in the last year. Projects like Berry Farms will keep the momentum going as we continue to brand ourselves as the location for corporate headquarters in the Nashville market and in the Southeast.”
Last week, two antique tractors, symbolic of shovels, dug deep into the rich soil on land known as Berry Farms. At the ground-breaking plans featuring Phase 1 of a multi-phased live-work development were displayed for the early morning crowd to see.
Town Center is the first location to be developed in Berry Farms. Phase I activity is now underway at the Lewisburg Pike and Goose Creek Bypass intersection.
According to project documents, “the plan for Phase I includes 11 commercial lots with approximately 70,000 square feet of retail, as well as Hughes Mills at Berry Farms, which will include 53 residential lots. The Residences of Berry Farms will offer a broad range of residential opportunities, from townhomes and cottages to village homes (traditionally designed one- and two-story homes), and custom homes on larger scale lots. Amenities will include strategically placed open spaces and parks, as well as a neighborhood pool.”
“The commercial portion of Phase I will include retail shops, restaurants, banks and services to meet the needs of the community in a vibrant, unique setting.”
Additionally, a similar project is slated for Brentwood’s Towne Centre. The project, now under consideration by the Planning Office and City Commission, proposes just fewer than 400 individually-deeded units, which when built will be rentals. Developers told city commissioners they chose rental over sales, citing the need to proceed carefully until the economy stabilizes.
Largen said, “Our office is tracking 35 projects, companies considering relocating to, staying in, or expanding in Williamson County. Of those 35, we are actively communicating with 19, and the overwhelming majority have a regional, national, or international headquarter component. Finally, the site location consultants I have a close relationship with tell me they are seeing a significant level of activity too, which will eventually translate to an increase in activity on the community level.”
Posted on: 6/23/2011
