FRANKLIN, TN – That hammers are pounding and shovels are digging again in Williamson County is an indication that the economy here is gaining momentum, particularly when it comes to banks loosening their stranglehold on loan approvals.

Various construction permits were issued in Franklin recently for multimillion-dollar commercial jobs, indicating developers and lending institutions are more easily coming to terms. On Meridian Boulevard, $25 million in permits were issued by the city for Boyle Development projects. Meanwhile, an assisted senior living facility on Murfreesboro Road received a permit for $7 million worth of construction, and interior work continues at the Jackson National Life building on Innovation Drive.

Boyle recently began moving dirt on its Berry Farms mixed-use development near Goose Creek Bypass that originally was approved in January 2008.

“The overall banking scenario is improving,” said Richard Herrington, president and CEO of Franklin Synergy Bank. “We’re seeing more requests for construction financing, and we’re approving more requests for financing.”

Herrington’s office isn’t involved in the projects that recently received the city’s go ahead to begin work, but his bank has seen a noticeable uptick in commercial projects. That same optimism is blooming at other lending houses, too, he said.

Matt Largen, director of economic development for Williamson County, said his office is seeing more credible requests from prospective companies for details on the local market. What has changed from two years ago, Largen said, is the project has become reality rather than a distant goal.

Of course Williamson County is the exception rather than the rule when it comes to the statewide and national economy. Unemployment here has not been as severe. Since July 2010, companies have announced the addition of 2,000 jobs, Largen said.

Taxes are low in Williamson County, and the greater Nashville area sits at the center of several shipping corridors, which only helps attract more business. Southern Land, the developer behind the Westhaven subdivision in Franklin and the McEwen project in Cool Springs, continues to break ground on new construction and fill existing commercial space.

Part of that success, according to Paul Neuroth, Southern Land’s senior vice president of commercial leasing, is because the Nashville market retained its credibility better than others.

“I do think, in general, we’re fortunate to be in Nashville, or Austin or Raleigh, and not Vegas or south Florida,” Neuroth said.

Herrington, too, acknowledged that how quickly an area sees an economic rebound will vary by location.

“Believe me, we live in the Garden of Eden,” Herrington said. “We feel good about our local economy. I guess the negative is our economy is not an island by itself.”