Monday, March 7, 2016

Future of Downtown Franklin Covered in Milford Daily News

Members were introduced to Deputy Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and new Town Planner Kristin Kaczmarek at the FDP General Meeting. Discussion topics moved from Streetscape project progress to future plans for downtown Franklin. For example, new light posts downtown will feature banners, a project that is in the planning stages now. 

Executive Director Lisa Piana asked members to identify which businesses they would like to see move to Franklin, resulting in several great ideas. 

Do you have ideas? If so, please email the office at downtown.franklin@yahoo.com and tell us what they are! There is also a great on-going conversation on the #shopFranklin Facebook page.

The following is an excerpt from Mike Gleason's story in the Milford Daily News about this topic. To read the whole article Future of Downtown Franklin considered, please click here (subscription may be required). 

Pandora Carlucci, of the Franklin School Department, asked if there had been a study done of downtown needs. Partnership members said although there had been no comprehensive assessment, there has been some discussion of the types of businesses the downtown might welcome. They noted, for example, that there was no longer a place to get breakfast within that zone.
Partnership member Roberta Trahan said now is the time to promote economic development in the downtown.
"The streetscape project is going to be done - there will be no more excuses," she said.
The appearance of downtown will also be changing in a way beyond the street project, partnership members noted. The former municipal building on Emmons Street will likely be torn down in the next few weeks to make way for a new commercial building.
That property will also eventually contain a small park, with a statue of Franklin native Horace Mann in its center.