Along with two new grocery stores, shoppers in Franklin are also getting new options for where they can get clothing, pet supplies, shoes and grab a bite to eat.
Shopping centers bringing new stores are being built near the new Meijer store and the Kroger Marketplace, which are both located off U.S. 31 on the north side of the city.
In just those two developments, as many as 10 new shops or restaurants will come to Franklin in the coming months.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe new stores are appealing to both local residents and people who live in other areas without as many retail options, Franklin Mayor Joe McGuinness said.
Once the new centers open, shoppers will have more places to buy clothing and other items and eat, which includes restaurants downtown and on U.S. 31, he said.
Both developments are also located in the city’s newest tax-increment financing, or TIF, district along U.S. 31, which will set aside tax dollars from new development for infrastructure improvements, such as to help pedestrian traffic.
Construction is ongoing on both shopping centers.
Surrounding the new Meijer store off Commerce Drive, which is still under construction and set to open early in the summer, four outlots are planned.
One will include a convenience store planned by Meijer, and most recently plans were submitted to the city for a BW3s restaurant on one of the other lots, Franklin senior planner Joanna Myers said.
Myers did not know what was planned at the other two spots. Meijer did not have information to release yet, spokesman Frank Guglielmi said.
A bit further south, construction is also ongoing on a shopping center next to the Kroger Marketplace that opened this fall.
That center has room for up to six shops, Myers said.
So far, permits have been filed to build a Petsmart, Shoe Show, Marshalls and Ross Dress for Less, she said.
Permits have not yet been filed for the other two spaces yet, she said.
