About the Project

Franklin City Hall is housed in a 1970s mall on the historic public square in downtown Franklin.  Prior to 1968, the site had a plethora of historical and unique uses, from stables, buggy repair shops, and an auction barn with livestock to a grocery store and automotive sales service area.  The original architecture matched the surrounding buildings; brick in construction with grand arches large enough for a horse and buggy to travel through.

A one-story, block-long mall replaced those buildings in 1974, complete with several department stores and shops. The mall closed in the early 1980s leading to the purchase of the site for its current use, City Hall. The building has held city government offices since that time and was never intended to serve this purpose long term. The large department store mall layout with a lack of windows, leaky roof, and incompatible architecture creates a less than ideal configuration. The building has outlived its use as functional office space and lacks the hospitality and prominence that a public City Hall should offer its citizens.

The City seeks to redevelop the site on the historic Square with a state-of-the-art City Hall facility, inclusive of public meeting spaces, additional parking, potential complementary uses, activated streetscape, outdoor gathering spaces, and site improvements. The existing parking structure and the Pull Tight Theater will remain on-site. The new campus will address its prominence on the historic downtown square and serve the citizens for generations to come.

Frequently Asked Questions

Schematic Design Plans (presented to Board of Mayor and Aldermen in January 2024)

Phase 3 - Design Development and Construction Drawings

Phase 3 is underway, which will finalize the construction plans for the new City Hall.  This involves obtaining a Certificate of Appropriateness by the Historic Zoning Commission and then Site Plan approval by the Franklin Municipal Planning Commission. 

Phase 2-Schematic Design

Phase 2, Schematic Design, is where architecture and further design of the interior building spaces takes place. In the first part of this phase, a reprogramming effort was conducted to reduce the overall square footage of the building. Test Fits  were created to show how the programmatic needs for City Hall could fit within a smaller square footage.  The Schematic Design plans were completed and presented to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen in January 2024. 

Phase 1-New City Hall Master Plan

This design and engagement process, led by OHM/Studio 8, the City’s consultant team, was meant to engage citizens in finding out what is important to the community when considering the development of a new city hall.  How should the community be able to engage with and use city hall?  For the results of Phase 1 of this project, see the city hall master plan and report.

Looking Ahead

The goal is to obtain the approvals by the end of 2024.  Demolition and construction is expected to begin in Spring/Summer 2025.  The anticipated completion date is Summer 2027.

The History of Franklin City Hall video below

City Hall Conditions video below

Public Engagement/Round 1 video below