Historic Downtown Franklin Soon to Have County’s Only Rooftop Bar

Nashville isn’t the only place experiencing rapid growth. Williamson County is growing, too, in areas you might not expect.

Once construction is finished at 231 Public Square in downtown Franklin, you’ll get to experience the first and only rooftop restaurant in the county.

The downtown Franklin historic district is the oldest section of town. It’s listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and most of the buildings have been standing since the 19th century.
Developer Bernie Butler told News 2 the original building that stood on the site was built in 1880. He said it was a hotel that caught fire, and was torn down in in 1940.You may recognize 231 Public Square as the First Tennessee Bank Building, but it was sold to real estate investors who are turning it into two restaurants, one on the balcony, and one on the ground floor, and office space, designed to maintain Franklin’s charm and history.

“In 1972 a bank bought it and built a very 1970’s, inappropriate architecturally, building on the Square. And so we have taken that bank building and are transforming it with some of the original architecture of the 1900s building into a building that’s more Michigan Avenue comes to Downtown Franklin,” said Bernie Butler, President of D9 Development.

It takes a lot of legwork and permission to alter buildings in historic areas, but Butler said he and his partners were able to get permits to redesign this building because of its appearance.
“This roof is 4,600 square feet of completely air conditioned space up on the roof, and a patio all the way around the top, and so, nothing like it. You’d have to go to the Westin in downtown Nashville to find something like this,” Butler told News 2.The roof top restaurant will give you 360-degree views of downtown Franklin and the rolling hills of Williamson County.

He said he can’t give us the name of the restaurant just yet, but he knows it’s the perfect fit for the area.

Butler said, “Franklin is really a pedestrian town. It’s a place where you really just walk around on the sidewalks and look. This square is the center and soul of that county and everything going on.”

You should be able to enjoy the ‘improved’ 231 Public Square in Spring of 2018.

Courtesy of WKRN News 2