Allen Lewis

Allen Lewis

With more than 40 years of commercial and residential construction, plan review and code compliance experience, Allen Lewis will retire Friday from his position as city of Franklin building official.

Lewis, who grew up in the Memphis area, spent 20 years as a commercial construction contractor throughout middle Tennessee, before becoming a building inspector for Sumner County in 1998. He was hired the following year by the city of Franklin’s Building and Neighborhood Services (BNS) department, where he has been making his mark ever since.  

Lewis started as a building inspector and was promoted to his current role of building official in 2008. As building official he oversees a team of three plan reviewers who review and approve plans for all new construction and renovation projects in the city, among other things. In 2020 the combined value of these commercial and residential projects was more than $467 million.  

Lewis has seen Franklin grow from a city of 29,000 residents when he was hired to its present population of more than 84,000. Throughout the city’s rapid growth, he has worked closely with city leaders and fellow employees across multiple departments to advocate for the adoption of codes, and ensure the safety of Franklin’s buildings and those who occupy them for generations to come, says a release. 

A fraction of the significant projects he’s played a vital role in from the initial planning stages include Berry Farms, Westhaven, Franklin Park, Healthways and Nissan headquarters.

Lewis has an A.S. in Architectural Engineering Technology from Nashville State Community College and multiple certifications. His coworkers describe him this way:

  • “A wealth of knowledge about Franklin’s built environment that can’t be replaced.”
  • “If anyone has a question about anything, they go to Allen.”
  • “He is always accessible and patient, and always takes the time to answer questions.”
  • “He’s an amazing resource and his departure will be a tremendous loss for the city.”  
  • “His fingerprints are on every area of this city.”

 “Allen Lewis has been a dedicated public servant and respected city team member,” Franklin City Administrator Eric Stuckey said. “His commitment to excellence and to promoting high-quality, safe construction throughout Franklin has left a lasting legacy. We will miss Allen’s professionalism, expertise and his kind, helpful demeanor. We wish Allen all the best as he heads into this next chapter of life.”

When asked what he’s most proud of, Lewis said, “Just knowing that we’ve done our best to have a lot of safe structures built.”

He said he will miss the people, the camaraderie and helping the citizens, property owners and design professionals “work through things.” Lewis and his wife reside in Murfreesboro. They have two children and one grandchild. He’s says he's looking forward to traveling and visiting with them upon retirement, and to sleeping in.