UPPUrban Planning Pros
Review My Property →

Surveys, Utilities & Site Design / Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee

Nashville Old Franklin Road proposal: 33 townhomes are not a ready-to-build yield

A public Nashville proposal would replace one AR2a property with a 33-townhome Specific Plan. The draft plan still needs public decisions, final design, utility capacity, stormwater, fire, access, and permit approval.

Published 2026-10-18Checked 2026-10-18UPP Project Blog

The question in plain English

Metro Nashville's October 22 Planning Commission packet includes a request to move about 2.42 acres on Old Franklin Road from Agricultural/Residential, or AR2a, to a Specific Plan for 33 attached townhomes. Does that make 33 homes the proven value or ready-to-build yield for this property—or a model that nearby owners can copy? No. It is a public proposal with a staff recommendation, not a final zone change, final site plan, utility commitment, building permit, completed project, sale price, rent result, or profit. This Field Note concerns Metro case 2026SP-045-001. It is not an Urban Planning Pros project and uses no private client information.

The short answer

The draft packet supports a careful comparison, not a guarantee. The current AR2a district requires a two-acre minimum lot and generally allows single-family, two-family, and mobile homes. Metro staff says this tract could have no more than one duplex lot under that district. The requested Specific Plan, or SP, would permit one defined development: 33 attached townhomes at about 8.45 homes per acre. Staff recommends approval only with conditions. The Planning Commission hearing is one step, Metro Council has the final zone-change authority, and the Mayor later signs or vetoes the bill. Final design, water and sewer capacity, stormwater, fire access, roads, transit work, and permits remain separate checks.

What changed on October 16

Metro posted the October 22 draft agenda and staff report on October 16. The agenda identifies the 2.42-acre request, 33 proposed multifamily homes, and staff's recommendation to approve with conditions and disapprove without those conditions. The staff report adds the useful detail: the plan shows attached townhomes, private internal drives, a courtyard, sidewalks to every home, landscaping along the eastern edge, two-car garages, guest parking, and buildings up to two or three stories depending on location. Those facts make this more than a general growth update. They also show why the word proposed matters. The hearing can change, condition, delay, or reject the plan, and later drawings must still match the adopted approval.

Start with the current single-family or duplex choice

A land decision should begin with the rights confirmed today. The site has been zoned AR2a since 1974 and currently contains one single-family home. Metro describes AR2a as a rural district with a two-acre minimum lot for uses that include single-family and two-family homes. On this tract, the staff report says the maximum current housing choice would be one duplex lot—not 33 homes. Price the current case first: keep, repair, sell, or replace the existing home; or test one lawful duplex after confirming lot history, setbacks, access, utilities, drainage, building code, and permits. That base case may create less gross revenue, but it also avoids the time, cost, and risk of a zone change and a larger shared-site plan.

The 33-home plan is property-specific

A Specific Plan writes uses and design rules for the land inside that plan. It is not a new general right for every AR2a parcel in Southeast Nashville. The Old Franklin Road proposal includes one residential building type—attached townhomes—and a measured layout tied to this tract. The plan places seven homes along Old Franklin Road and the rest along private drives. It includes a courtyard, buffers, setbacks, garages, guest parking, sidewalks, and a new transit stop condition. A nearby owner cannot apply the 8.45-home-per-acre figure to another site without a separate policy, zoning, access, utility, stormwater, fire, market, and financial review. Even this owner cannot freely exchange the approved building type or add units without following the adopted plan and later review rules.

A staff recommendation is not the final approval

Metro's published process separates staff review, the Planning Commission recommendation, Metro Council action, and the Mayor's decision. The October 22 packet is still at the staff-and-Commission stage. Council considers a zone change through three readings, including its own public hearing, and can reach a different result from the Commission. The preliminary SP must then be corrected to include every adopted condition before the final site-plan application. The report also says no master permit or horizontal-property record may be completed before final SP approval, and a final plat may be required before permitting. An owner, buyer, appraiser, or lender should therefore track the exact case record rather than treating the draft plan or staff recommendation as a vested 33-home right.

Triplexes and quadplexes need their own test

The choice is not simply one house or 33 townhomes. A triplex or quadplex may offer a smaller step between those plans, but neither is approved by this proposal. Under current AR2a rules, Metro's public description points to single-family, two-family, and mobile homes—not three- or four-home buildings. The requested SP is also drawn for attached townhomes, not a triplex or quadplex program. An owner considering three or four homes in one building should ask Metro which zoning district or Specific Plan would be required, then test parking, fire access, water and sewer demand, stormwater, building classification, insurance, financing, trash, shared maintenance, and usable outdoor space. Do not count the third or fourth rent payment until the legal and physical path is confirmed in writing.

Infrastructure conditions can change the deal

The staff report makes clear that the preliminary zoning recommendation does not settle construction. Stormwater review is preliminary and the final submission must follow the current stormwater manual. Water and sanitary-sewer construction plans must be submitted and approved before final SP or site-plan approval. Metro requires a capacity study, and the report says capacity is not guaranteed until the stated water, sewer, and review fees are paid. Fire officials can require design changes for access and fire code. Transportation reviewers estimate 214 added weekday trips. The plan must provide an eastbound transit stop and passenger pad before the first phase is occupied. These are not minor details. They affect usable land, design time, construction cost, financing carry, schedule, and the number of homes that can survive final engineering.

Compare selling and holding with one fact set

Put at least five options on one page: sell with the current AR2a rights; keep or replace one single-family home; build a lawful duplex; pursue the 33-townhome SP and sell after approval; or develop the adopted plan and sell or hold the homes. Add a separate triplex or quadplex case only if Metro confirms a real path. Sale cases should include land basis, survey, application, design, engineering, legal, financing, taxes, commissions, closing costs, approval risk, and time. Build cases add demolition, grading, drives, sidewalks, water, sewer, drainage, fire access, permits, construction, interest, contingency, and sales or lease-up. Hold cases add achievable rent, vacancy, management, repairs, reserves, insurance, taxes, owner-paid utilities, debt service, and replacement costs. The draft SP prohibits short-term rentals, so do not use vacation-rental income in this comparison.

Demand and community impact are context

The Census Bureau estimates Davidson County at 745,904 people in 2025, up 4.2% from the 2020 estimate base. It reports 389,379 housing units, 5,632 building permits in 2025, a 2020–2024 median owner-occupied home value of $417,400, and median gross rent of $1,582. Those figures explain why additional housing choices matter, but they do not prove sale prices, rents, absorption, approval, or profit for 33 homes. Urban Planning Pros also reviewed 1,199 anonymous site events from the last 30 days: 1,186 page views, seven service clicks, five property-review clicks, and one guide read. Every city field was empty, so the signal supports a practical feasibility format, not a Nashville-specific demand claim. Local sales, rents, competing supply, and buyer or renter needs still require separate evidence.

A good plan must work for residents too

The proposal's courtyard, sidewalks, garages, guest parking, landscaping, transit stop, and limits on short-term rentals show how community needs enter the plan. The school review projects eight additional students and notes that the assigned elementary school is over capacity, the middle school is under capacity, and the high school is at capacity. Those facts do not decide the case by themselves, but they belong beside owner return. A plan should give residents safe access, reasonable parking, usable outdoor space, clear trash service, reliable utilities, emergency access, and a workable maintenance structure. Private drives must be maintained by the property owners' association. If that long-term responsibility is not priced and organized, a strong-looking unit count can become a weak neighborhood and a costly hold.

The next property check

Before paying for full drawings or using the 33-home proposal to value this land or another Nashville parcel, confirm twelve items: the October 22 hearing result; the Planning Commission recommendation; every Metro Council reading and final ordinance; the Mayor's action; the final SP use and design rules; surveyed boundaries and title limits; legal access and private-drive duties; water and sewer capacity; stormwater and grading; fire access and water supply; the final site plan and permits; and current sale, rent, cost, and financing evidence. Then compare the current single-family or duplex plan, a separately lawful triplex or quadplex, selling after approval, building homes for sale, and holding lawful homes for cash flow. Urban Planning Pros can organize that comparison through a Development Feasibility Study. Use the Review My Property link below to begin with the actual land. Nashville and Davidson County information was checked October 18, 2026.

Source note

Development Feasibility Study ↗Review My Property ↗