Building a Downtown From the Ground Up

The Shepherd Express reports on the Fountains of Franklin, which started as a proposed retail development but which is now being billed as a downtown.

The plan originally called for a 70,000-square-foot project, but it was greatly expanded when Sendik's Food Market decided to locate a 62,000-square-foot store at the site and the Franklin Cultural Arts Center decided to build a performing-arts facility at the location. That center would be home to community and school theatrical performances as well as other exhibits, said Don Dorsan, president of the non-profit center.

The project will also include a 60,000-square-foot professional/medical office facility, multiple restaurants, retail stores, a bank and a 24-pump gas station.

If the police station, library, post office, and now the new high school, could have been added in, maybe that would be a downtown. Every business or public institution has a constituency for its building projects, but there's none for a downtown.