Downtown Districts
THE CITY OF FRANKLIN IS BOLDLY PLANNING TO ENSURE OUR GREAT CITY CAPTURES THE TYPE OF GROWTH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT WILL LEAD US INTO THE FUTURE.
Located in the northwestern portion of Warren County, our eastern border is I-75 which provides ideal access for our industrial partners, retail businesses, and residents. Our western border is graced by the Great Miami River.
PLANNING FOR A STRONG & COHESIVE DOWNTOWN FABRIC.
There is much scope to improve, protect, and strengthen ‘Place’ in downtown Franklin. Presently, the area offers a variety of buildings and uses that primarily represent stand-alone commercial, residential and civic uses. To reinvent into a destination and to help bring energy, interest, and investment into the area, it is crucial to fill in missing gaps and create a robust and contiguous fabric with thriving uses. The analysis and feedback from the community seek to protect the local architectural style and character while focusing investment and redevelopment into aging structures, underutilized properties, and vacant lots. Growth and infill that complement the historic styles unique to Franklin while providing an expanded variety of use typologies and scales are desired. New adaptive reuse of existing historic properties is encouraged.
PLACES FOR THE FUTURE
Based on feedback from the community, the plan seeks to improve ‘place’ through infill and redevelopment that can bolster the existing fabric and attract new investment
into the area. New and in-demand uses are encouraged. The city can strengthen the local economy by continuing to offer incentives and support to local and prospective businesses ranging from facade improvement grants to collaboration at public events. Another strategy would be to prioritize underutilized, vacant, or blighted structures for reinvestment and new uses that can bring new opportunities and elevate the downtown experience for the community. Activation at the street level with active uses and engaging facades, outdoor dining, pocket parks, plazas, public art, and other elements that can invite more users into the area is desirable. Passive uses such as residential and office can be located on upper levels. The primary objective is to strengthen the downtown area and bring interest and vitality here, and this can be achieved by promoting a live-work-play culture supported by a thriving commercial area and recreational amenities on the riverfront. Expanded housing stock that offers wide-ranging options in typologies and price points is essential to attract new residents and stabilize downtown.
The plan proposes to implement these strategies and guide future development in downtown Franklin by spatially classifying it into five unique and distinct planning areas. While mixed-use remains the primary use desired in downtown, the planning areas allow us to signify the details of development type, scale, intensity, and character that would be appropriate for the different areas within downtown. These vary based on location, existing use patterns, proximity to key landmarks, and availability of redevelopment potential.
