CoolSprings Galleria
Regional shopping mall that opened in 1991 and anchored the district's development.
Cool Springs · Franklin, TN
Remodels and additions for Cool Springs' 1990s and 2000s homes
Cool Springs is Franklin's commercial engine — a regional retail and office district flanked by late-1980s through 2000s subdivisions. The houses here are big-boned and structurally straightforward, which makes them good candidates for reconfiguration: opening plans, adding primary suites, finishing bonus space, and adding garages or covered outdoor rooms.
History & architecture
How Cool Springs was built
Cool Springs was farmland along the I-65 corridor until the interstate interchange and the 1991 opening of CoolSprings Galleria turned it into Williamson County's retail center.
Corporate office campuses followed through the 1990s and 2000s, drawing headquarters and regional operations to Franklin and making the area a daytime employment hub rather than just a shopping district.
Residential subdivisions filled the surrounding land in the same period, mostly conventional suburban plats with front-loaded garages, brick-and-siding elevations, and generous floor plans.
Growth here is the reason Franklin adopted contextual, block-face-based standards downtown: Cool Springs absorbed the volume so the historic core did not have to.
- Typical era
- Late 1980s–2000s
- Dominant styles
- Suburban traditional — brick and siding, front-loaded garages, two-story plans
- Typical lot
- 9,000–15,000 sq ft platted subdivision lots
- Review
- No historic overlay; HOA architectural review is common
Landmarks & shared spaces
Places that anchor Cool Springs
Cool Springs office corridor
Corporate campuses along Mallory Lane and Carothers Parkway.
Aspen Grove Park
Neighborhood park and playground tucked between the office and retail areas.
Williamson County Recreation facilities
Public recreation and sports fields serving the surrounding subdivisions.
Liberty Park
Community park space serving the eastern Cool Springs neighborhoods.
Businesses & districts
Where Cool Springs gathers
Mallory Lane retail
The main retail spine flanking the Galleria with big-box and specialty stores.
Carothers Parkway
Office parks, medical offices, and hotels forming the district's employment core.
Cool Springs Boulevard
Restaurants and services connecting the interstate to the office campuses.
Moores Lane corridor
Everyday retail and services closest to the residential streets.
Zoning & overlays
Common zoning codes in Cool Springs
These are the base districts and overlays we see most often on Cool Springs lots. Always confirm your parcel's district and overlays on the Metro zoning map before design decisions get expensive.
R3Residential 3 District
The workhorse district for Franklin's newer neighborhoods: 9,000 sq ft minimum lot, 65 ft width, 20 ft front, 10 ft side, 30 ft rear, 2 1/2 stories, and 40% minimum landscape surface area.
R2Residential 2 District
Larger-lot subdivisions at 15,000 sq ft minimum with 75 ft width, 20 ft front, 10 ft side, and 40 ft rear setbacks.
R1Residential 1 District
Applies to some annexed county subdivisions — 30,000 sq ft lots with 60 ft front, 25 ft side, and 50 ft rear setbacks.
SDSpecific Development
Several Cool Springs subdivisions were approved as planned developments, so the recorded plat and approved plan can override the base district's setbacks.
Overlays that apply here
HHO
Hillside/Hillcrest Overlay
Applies on the ridges around the district. No development on natural slopes of 20% or greater, no tree removal above 14% slope, driveways limited to 14% with landings, and non-reflective neutral roof and wall colors.
FWO / Floodplain
Floodway and floodplain overlays
Creek corridors through the area carry floodway restrictions where structures are not permitted.
Permitting path
- 1No historic overlay applies in Cool Springs — the base district plus the recorded plat and any specific development plan set the envelope.
- 2Check the plat first. Franklin's ordinance defers to recorded plat standards where they differ from the district table, and many Cool Springs subdivisions have platted setbacks of their own.
- 3Watch landscape surface area, not just setbacks. R2 and R3 require 40% minimum landscape surface, which a large addition plus new driveway or patio can quietly eat into.
- 4Most subdivisions here have an active HOA with architectural review — submit elevations there in parallel with the city permit application.
- 5If the lot backs onto a ridge or a creek, confirm HHO and floodplain mapping before locating any new structure.
Why it matters
Cool Springs's place in Franklin
Cool Springs is the economic center of Williamson County — retail, offices, and healthcare concentrated at the I-65 interchange — and the reason Franklin's daytime population far exceeds its residential count.
For homeowners it is the most convenient part of Franklin and the deepest inventory of 1990s and 2000s houses, which is where the remodel demand is: dated kitchens, closed floor plans, and unfinished bonus rooms.
Because there is no design review layer, projects here move faster than downtown — the constraints are setbacks, landscape surface area, HOA rules, and slope.
Events & festivals
What happens in Cool Springs
Franklin Wine Festival and area fundraisers
Varies
Regional events frequently hosted at Cool Springs venues and hotels.
Holiday shopping season at the Galleria
November–December
The district's busiest stretch, with events and light displays.
Youth sports seasons
Spring and fall
County recreation leagues fill the nearby fields and draw the neighborhoods together.
Corporate and community 5Ks
Seasonal
Runs staged around the office campuses and parks.
Designing here
What this means for your Cool Springs project
- These houses usually have room to grow at the rear and side. The 30 ft rear setback in R3 is the number that most often governs a great-room or primary-suite addition.
- Bonus rooms over garages are frequently unfinished or under-designed — converting and expanding them is often cheaper per square foot than a new footprint.
- Covered porches, screened rooms, and outdoor kitchens are the most common request here and are easy wins on lots with deep back yards.
- Garage additions need attention to landscape surface area: added paving counts against the 40% minimum in R2 and R3.
- Elevations matter to the HOA even when they do not matter to the city — match brick, mortar color, and roof pitch or plan on a full-elevation redesign.
FAQ
Questions about Cool Springs
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