Westhaven Town Center
Walkable mixed-use core with restaurants, live/work buildings, and condominiums.
Westhaven · Franklin, TN
Traditional-neighborhood design in Franklin's flagship master-planned community
Westhaven is a traditional neighborhood development on Franklin's west side — front porches, alley-loaded garages, walkable blocks, and a town center. Design here is governed less by the city zoning table than by the community's own architectural standards, which are unusually specific about massing, materials, and street presence.
History & architecture
How Westhaven was built
Developed by Southern Land Company as its flagship master-planned community. Home sales began in 2003, and the first 100 buyers were designated Westhaven's founding residents.
Built on Traditional Neighborhood Development principles — a reaction to conventional suburban sprawl, with mixed housing types, interconnected streets, short setbacks, and rear alleys instead of front-facing garages.
Westhaven Golf Club, designed by Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates for Southern Land Company, opened to member play on August 29 of its debut year, with one hole designed by the winner of a national amateur design contest.
The Town Center filled in over the following decade with condominiums, townhomes, and live/work buildings, plus restaurants and a clubhouse — architecture by Smith Gee Studio among others, working to the developer's design standards.
By its 20-year anniversary in 2023 the community had grown past 2,400 households, with 44 of the original 100 founding homeowners still in place.
- Typical era
- 2003–present
- Dominant styles
- Traditional revival — Colonial, Craftsman, Southern vernacular with deep porches
- Typical lot
- Compact, mostly alley-loaded with rear or detached garages
- Review
- Community architectural review governs exterior changes
Landmarks & shared spaces
Places that anchor Westhaven
Westhaven Golf Club
Private 18-hole course by Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates woven through the neighborhood.
Westhaven West Amenity
Recreation hub between the golf club and tennis courts with a regulation pool, cabanas, and an entertainment lawn.
Community lakes and greens
Lakefront paths, parks, and pocket greens that structure the street network.
Golf cart paths
Cart-and-pedestrian circulation is a defining feature of daily life here.
Businesses & districts
Where Westhaven gathers
Front Street Tavern
Town Center restaurant, one of the neighborhood's original gathering places.
Lakefront retail buildings
Newer retail and restaurant space overlooking the community lake.
Live/work units
Ground-floor offices and studios along the Town Center streetscape.
Highway 96 West corridor
Everyday services just outside the community entrance toward downtown Franklin.
Zoning & overlays
Common zoning codes in Westhaven
These are the base districts and overlays we see most often on Westhaven lots. Always confirm your parcel's district and overlays on the Metro zoning map before design decisions get expensive.
SDSpecific Development
Westhaven was entitled as a planned/specific development, so the approved development plan and its building-type standards govern lot dimensions and setbacks rather than a standard residential district table.
MRMixed Residential District (comparable standards)
Franklin's MR district describes the same pattern: houses on 4,000 sq ft alley-loaded lots, 10 ft front setbacks, 5 ft sides, 15 ft rear, with duplexes and townhouses on 2,275 sq ft lots at 3 stories.
R3Residential 3 District (comparable standards)
Larger Westhaven lots sit closer to R3 geometry — 9,000 sq ft, 20 ft front, 10 ft side, 30 ft rear, 2 1/2 stories.
Overlays that apply here
ARC
Westhaven architectural review
The community's own design standards and review committee are the binding layer here. Approvals cover elevations, materials, colors, roof pitch, fencing, and outbuildings — often stricter than city zoning.
TND
Traditional Neighborhood Development pattern standards
Alley-loaded garages, shallow front setbacks, porches addressing the street, and building-type-specific rules carried through the approved development plan.
Permitting path
- 1Start with the Westhaven architectural review submittal — in a TND community the private design standards are usually the tighter constraint, and city permits follow the approved elevations.
- 2Confirm your lot's building type on the approved development plan; setbacks and garage placement are tied to the type, not to a citywide district table.
- 3Rear alleys and detached garages mean the buildable envelope is often defined by the alley face and the required rear-yard geometry — verify before sizing an addition or a garage loft.
- 4Once private review is cleared, the City of Franklin issues building permits under the specific development standards; no HPO or Certificate of Appropriateness applies out here.
Why it matters
Westhaven's place in Franklin
Westhaven is the reference point for master-planned living in Williamson County and the proof case for Traditional Neighborhood Development in Middle Tennessee.
Its street-forward architecture raises the bar for additions: a poorly composed rear structure is visible from the alley, and the front elevation is expected to hold the streetscape.
With 2,400+ households and a maturing early-2000s housing stock, it is now firmly in remodel-and-expand territory rather than new-build territory.
Events & festivals
What happens in Westhaven
Fourth of July celebration
July
Community parade and gathering — one of Westhaven's largest annual traditions.
Town Center concerts and events
Spring through fall
Live performances on the entertainment lawn and around the Town Center.
Swim and tennis season
Summer
Meets and matches at the West Amenity pool and adjacent courts.
Holiday tree lighting
December
Town Center holiday gathering for residents.
Designing here
What this means for your Westhaven project
- Rear alleys make carriage-house and garage-loft additions natural here — they match the pattern language rather than fighting it.
- Front elevations carry the neighborhood's character, so screened porches, sunrooms, and expansions usually work best behind the main massing.
- Materials and colors are reviewed. Specify siding profile, trim detail, roof pitch, and window type in the drawing set so private review has something to approve.
- Shallow front setbacks and tight side yards mean small footprint changes matter — a two-foot bump can put you into a setback that a standard suburban lot would absorb.
- Sequence matters: get the community's architectural approval first, then submit for city permits with the approved elevations.
FAQ
Questions about Westhaven
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Other Franklin neighborhoods
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