Franklin’s pocket neighborhoods filling up fast

Realtor Danny Anderson has a convincing answer when clients ask whether buying a home in one of Williamson County’s pocket neighborhoods is a good investment. He tells them he purchased one himself.

“I love it. We moved in in November,” Anderson said of his home in Berry Circle, a neighborhood of four new homes in Franklin’s historic district.

Williamson County is home to popular subdivisions that can have hundreds of homes. On the other hand, the largest of the five pocket neighborhoods developed so far will have just 17. Most are close to downtown Franklin and appeal to residents who want to live, work and play in the city.

Anderson, for example, often walks to his office next to the Franklin Theatre.

“That’s the beauty of these pocket neighborhoods. People can walk downtown for work or for dinner,” he said.

The newest pocket neighborhood, Allenwood, offers evidence that the trend is expanding beyond the city. That community of just 13 homes on 8.8 acres is being developed on a quiet stretch of Clayton-Arnold Road in Thompson’s Station.

Jim Cheney, one of the partners developing Allenwood, compared it to the infill projects springing up in East Nashville and other popular urban neighborhoods.

“It’s an infill project in a suburban market,” he said. “A small enclave in a pastoral setting.”

Jake Rains, a partner in Gregg & Rains Building Group, said each of Williamson County’s pocket neighborhoods has its own appeal. The company is preparing to begin home construction in Allenwood and Benelli Park, a neighborhood of nine luxury homes on Boyd Mill Avenue near downtown Franklin.

Allenwood has a convenient location near Thompson’s Station, Spring Hill and Franklin “but private,” said Rains. Benelli Park is in the heart of the historic district.

“Location is the attraction,” he said.

Home sites are being sold in both neighborhoods and construction will begin this spring. Allenwood’s developers are busy preparing the site of a two-acre park, and in Benelli Park, the roads have been paved.

Anderson, the managing broker for Parks (formerly Bob Parks Realty), has a listing for a home in Benelli Park and sells homes in Vandalia, a neighborhood of 17 homes on Boyd Mill Avenue within walking distance of Franklin’s Main Street. He also sold a home in Ledgelawn, another pocket neighborhood in the historic district.

Vandalia introduced the cottage concept to Franklin. The neighborhood features homes ranging from 1,250 to 1,805 square feet built around common courtyards. Prices range from the high $200,000s to the low $400,000s.

By comparison, the median price of a home in Franklin was $440,860 in January, according to the Williamson County Association of Realtors.

A cottage community like Vandalia has another advantage in addition to price, said Anderson. With homes designed around shared green space, neighbors spend more time together.

“It provides a real sense of community. People are closer and get to know their neighbors,” he said.

Twelve of Vandalia’s 17 cottages have been snapped up by buyers. The popularity of the development is no surprise to Ashlyn Hines, a principal of Bristol Development Group, the company that created the neighborhood.

“Downtown Franklin is a place people want to live,” she said.

Hines personally enjoys that lifestyle. Her own home is in Berry Circle. Even in the recent ice storm, she walked to the square for breakfast.

“You’re a two minute walk to everything,” she said of Franklin’s pocket neighborhoods.

In Ledgelawn, which was launched in 2013, all six new luxury homes are under contract. The neighborhood was developed on three acres surrounding the historic Dozier Home in downtown Franklin. That home, built in 1904, has been restored and is for sale, said Kirstin Hobday, an executive with Thrive Homes.

“It’s a really wonderful lifestyle,” she said.