Boyle Affirms Berry Farms Project is Full Steam Ahead

The Tennessean

by Maria Giordano

After three years of biding their time, Boyle Development officials finally broke ground last week on that company’s Berry Farms development in the Goose Creek area.

The project, originally approved in January 2008, recently received final approval from Franklin officials, clearing the path to construct more than 600 homes and more than 1 million square feet of retail and office space.

About 100 people, including county and city officials, showed up for the groundbreaking ceremony near Lewisburg Pike and Peytonsville Road in Franklin, said Shelby Larkin, a Boyle Investment Property spokeswoman.

Instead of using shovels, they broke ground with two antique tractors to celebrate kicking off the first phase, Larkin said.

“This does mean full steam ahead,” she said. “We have already commenced site work. It’s definitely moving.”

Boyle development officials said recently that the groundbreaking was strategically timed and tied to such factors as the improvement of the economy in Williamson County and Middle Tennessee and the expansion of Interstate 65. The 604-acre mixed-use development is slated to offer a range of homes, services and office options. The first phase will includes 11 commercial lots with approximately 70,000 square feet of retail space on 22.62 acres and the Residences of Berry Farms, a swath of 53 residential lots that will include town homes, single-family residences and custom homes.

Larkin says the project will feature lots of green space with a historic Franklin look. The idea is for people to live, work and shop in the same place, walking where needed. She said she believes it is the largest development of its kind in the Nashville area and will serve as a great economic engine for Williamson County and Nashville.

They have not announced what businesses might be included in Berry Farms, but Larkin says they are in talks.

Boyle Development is based in Memphis and has been doing mixed-use construction since the 1970s.

“I do think there is a trend of people who want to hearken back to the old neighborhood feel. Being able to walk to the butcher, baker — know everyone,” Larkin said. “I think people are looking for that sense of community right now.”