Holladay Properties, the company that purchased The Factory at Franklin late last year, began renovating the main building’s interior this week to make way for a new Grand Hall.
Two renderings of the redesigned hall created by Nashville architecture firm Centric were released last week, showcasing a new bar as the focal point as well as The Factory’s new logo embedded on the floor with penny tile, increased greenery and modern furnishings.
Development partner Ronnie Wenzler said the upcoming Grand Hall transformation was a milestone in reimagining one of Franklin’s most memorable rooms.
“We imagine the Grand Hall as a place of welcome and wonder,” Wenzler said. “By opening up this truly reimagined grand space, making it easy to move and meet, linger or focus, we’ll be test-driving our vision for the new Factory as an immersive and exciting, yet also comfortable, experience. We believe we are offering a vision with responsibility to The Factory’s past paired with a curated, creative response that captures the currency of now. I look forward to seeing this vision unfold soon.”
Holladay Properties has relocated numerous businesses from their previously rented spaces because of renovations being done at The Factory. However, some businesses and craft shops have moved out altogether.
“There were certainly some [businesses] in the makers market that were just a size that made it really difficult to shuffle around, and we essentially told all of them we don’t have a spot at the moment, but check back with us once the redevelopment is finished, and let’s see if there are some spaces we can find that make sense,” said Allen Arender, partner and senior vice president of development for Holladay Properties.
Several popular shops and restaurants, such as Honest Coffee, Franklin Juice and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, have signed long-term leases to continue serving Franklin from The Factory.
Arender said he is collaborating with the Franklin Farmers Market to find new space now that the Grand Hall will be occupied.
“We are also working on a new farmers market layout that will improve the guest experience and improve visibility for all merchants,” he added. “This new layout will also capitalize on a new park area under the water tower that the entire community will be able to enjoy. We’ll be announcing the details of these enhancements, and new tenants, in the coming weeks and months.”
The Grand Hall renovation is expected to be completed in early 2023.
