The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved a rezoning plan for the development of a continuing care retirement community .

Erickson's future 75-acre property at 4440, 4428 and 4430 Peytonsville Rd is recently annexed land which is currently owned by Chapter 2 Investments, represented to the city by Kelly Beasley.

Now that the city has approved the rezoning of the land from agricultural district to planned district, the sale of the land from the investment group to Erickson is imminent though there may be some more approvals to get through before the contract enters the closing stage.

Erickson's proposed community would have 1,250 independent living units and 175 continuing care beds which are made up of assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing facilities. The company operates 24 of these communities across 11 states and this would be its first in Tennessee.

"If you look at the communities that we are managing, developing around the country, they are typically located on the fringes of significant metropolitan areas," Steve Montgomery, senior VP of development for Erickson, tells the Williamson Scene. "That's primarily based on where the concentration of seniors live. And, that kind of criteria followed us to Nashville from the perspective of high concentration of seniors, as well as the fact that it's a growing market, which we have seen to be a good indicator for us of a place where we might be able to offer our type of service based housing."

Montgomery says that Erickson knows its product does not fit in every community but that company leaders still see a significant need for what they develop because of the aging population of the country. Franklin specifically just checked all the boxes for what he says the company was looking for.

"Given the scale of our projects, we are always looking out – things aren't happening tomorrow. These types of projects, take time," Montgomery says. "And, we're trying to be thoughtful in our planning and whatnot to evaluate an area for that type of senior growth."

Erickson has engaged with the local community ahead of this project proposal to gain feedback from neighbors, elected officials and people in health care and the workforce. The company said in a press release that it has seen strong community support in meetings with these groups. In that same release, Erickson said it is working with the city on infrastructure improvements such as water, sewer and other services to support the project and potential development in the area.

"In the continuing care retirement community industry, we're a bit of a differentiator in the in the industry and primarily because of our scale," Montgomery says. "The typical operator that we have encountered does not operate at that scale. ... Our scale, we feel, makes us a differentiator, and with that scale, we feel like we are able to offer a wider variety of services and amenities in our communities that you might not be able to see done at a smaller 200 unit community."

He says it is that scale that also allows Erickson to offer a wider variety of units to also provide a range in pricing options for the consumer, understanding that this is often a large expense for many families. As the company considers a growing population in an area it looks to develop, the family aspect of the decision for where aging seniors would want to relocate is an important factor. 

If the project moves through the stages of approval in Franklin BOMA meetings this summer, it will be set for a groundbreaking in 2027 with the first residents able to move in by 2029.