Construction will begin this spring on a sprawling new residential development, valued at more than $40 million, near the new Northwestern Mutual Life office complex being built in Franklin.
The Franklin Oaks development will span more than 60 acres on the city’s east side, near the former site of the 41 Twin Drive-In movie theater.
The residential subdivision will include:
— 144 apartments, with various numbers of bedrooms, with a total value of $16 million.
— 45 duplex condominiums (90 units), ranging from 1,800 to 2,000 square feet, with a total value of $20.5 million.
–17 new single-family homes, with lot sales ranging from $55,000 to $75,000, and an estimated total value of $5.1 million.
Franklin Oaks was conceived by real estate development partners Jeff Klement, Gerry Klamrowski and Christopher Alessi.
The subdivision will be developed by Icon Development Corp., the Franklin company formed by Klement in 1998. The multifamily units, comprised of brick and stone materials, will be designed by The Shepherd Partnership of Wauwatosa. Icon Construction LLC, a division of Icon Development, will construct the multifamily units.
Construction is expected to begin in two months and will continue in phases over the next five years, Klement and Klamrowski said.
Franklin Oaks will be bordered by Drexel Avenue on the North, South 27th Street on the east, Plaza Drive on the south and South 35th Street on the west.
The subdivision’s single-family units will be located near existing single-family houses in Franklin. The new development will retain the wetlands and other vegetation on the land as buffer zones between the single-family and multifamily units.
The project also will include six retention ponds.
"There’s two reasons this development is special," Klamrowski said. "Along 35th and Plaza, we kept that all single-family, then we have a nice transition to a slightly higher density of duplex condos. The other transition is you have all the wetlands that separate the multifamily from the single-family units."
"The natural areas become buffers," Klement said. "It’s important. People like looking at those."
The developers have obtained all of the permits needed from the City of Franklin to proceed with the project, according to Mary Kay Buratto, who started as the city’s planning manager in December.
"Just by looking at it (the site plan), I would agree this project is well thought out," Buratto said.
Klement and Klamrowski both said they expect employees who will work at the nearby Northwestern Mutual complex will express interest in moving into the Franklin Oaks development.
