FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Factory at Franklin is getting a facelift as part of a revitalization project.
On the outside, construction equipment lines the parking lot. The goal is to reopen parts of the Grand Hall and bar area at the main entrance in April.
"In the front corner when you come in front doors to the left will be Edley’s," Allen Arender with Holladay Properties said.
Arender said the hall will host a restaurant under the water tower and other eateries like Otaku Ramen.
"Jeni’s Ice Cream is going back into this corner," Arender said.
There will be a carousel, and they plan to have outside seating as you can see in the renderings:
Patrons can grab a drink and dinner before heading to the box office to buy tickets at the Turner Theater.
“They can actually go to a restaurant and go to the theater — that’s Broadway, that’s New York," Studio Tenn Artistic Director Patrick Cassidy said.
After 14 years, the professional theater company Studio Tenn will have a permanent home. In the past, they had to build it from the ground up.
"We did it all, it was all a fabrication, all make-believe, right? Now it’s for real," Cassidy said.
They're fundraising for the project.
"It is our big goal, not just for the theater, but also we’re going to have a rehearsal space where we’re going to teach kids," Cassidy said.
Studio Tenn's Tony McAlister said it's a game changer as the industry was hit hard during the pandemic.
“Now they’re coming back, some didn’t make it, we’ve had some here locally that didn’t make it — the barn dinner theater didn’t make it, others struggled," McAlister said.
But now, the show must go on.
"It will still be very intimate," McAlister said.
There will be nearly 330 seats. Hopefully, the curtains open in October.
"Literally, it means everything," McAlister said.
There's an envision Franklin 'Factory District' Community workshop going on in Liberty Hall from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Thursday. It gives residents the opportunity to voice their thoughts on the project.
