The Galleria spurred further commercial growth including strip malls, hotels, business parks, and big box retailers. As the area drew new businesses, Franklin began to attract corporate headquarters for companies such as Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors, UBS Financial Services, CKE Restaurants, and Community Health Systems, among others. As new businesses arrived, so did new residential development. Both the population and the city limits continued to expand in every geographic direction. While development within the local historic districts has had a lesser rate of growth than the rest of the city, growth and development have continued to take place and have transformed historic landmarks throughout the city. In Downtown Franklin, newer projects such as the Brownstones, which are 25 units of luxury row houses, the (33) Harpeth Hotel, the first hotel and mixed-use and residential development which spans nearly the full Northern block of 1st Avenue, an addition to the courthouse, and the demolition and reconstruction of the City Hall have been transformative. The growth expands outwards towards and beyond the edges of the HPO and into land surrounding large historic estates with infill development. CENTURIES OF GROWTH AND EXPANSION After nearly 150 years since its establishment, Franklin had experienced limited growth, in both land and population. The town of Franklin began as one square mile in 1799 and by 1960, corporate limits remained just under two square miles. By 1980, the city was 8.5 square miles. In the next ten years, it almost tripled in size to 24.9 square miles by 1990. Franklin has grown to 45 square miles in 2025. Looking back at the last 100 years, Franklin has grown continually and rapidly, never less than 22% in population during a 10-year period. However, from 1990 to 2000, the city’s population more than doubled (108%), largely due to annexations and new housing developed on annexed land. Since 1990, Franklin has grown in population by about 20,000 people per decade, reaching more than 92,000 residents in 2025. 55
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