Harlin, Now Asbury: What's Coming to 311 Acres in Franklin

If you live anywhere near Hillview Lane, Coleman Road or that stretch of Columbia Pike in south Franklin, you've probably heard two names for the same project: Harlin and Asbury. Here's what the city actually approved, when it's coming, and what has to happen to your roads before it opens.

What's being built

The city's zoning caps the project at up to 242 homes, a figure that comes straight from the entitlement table the Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved on April 28, 2026. Boyle's own announcement and some press coverage describe 249 residences instead. Both numbers are on the record: up to 242 homes approved by the city, Boyle describes 249.

The homes are a mix of single-family, townhouse, duplex and small-scale multifamily buildings capped at 12 units each, one to three stories tall. In its own materials, Boyle describes brownstones, condominium flats with elevator access, and estate homesites of two to eight acres around a walkable hamlet. No builder names, lot sizes or prices have been published by the city, Boyle or the press.

Alongside the homes, the city approved 32,000 square feet of commercial space, described as neighborhood-scale shops in a "North Village" and "South Village," and up to 80 hospitality keys as a boutique inn plus stand-alone cottages, with up to four suites per cottage building. Other planned pieces include an event venue, a community post office, open space around Polk Creek, and preservation of Winstead Hill and the Winstead Cemetery. The Herald reported 6.5 miles of walking and biking trails, and the city's contract with Boyle lists a private pool, formal landscaping, pickleball courts and public unpaved trails through the preserved open space.

More than 200 acres of the 311-acre site stays open space under Franklin's Village Green rules, which require at least 70 percent open space. City planning documents put the open space closer to 220 acres. The zoning allows up to 0.78 units per acre, and the plan as presented to the Board works out to about 0.67 homes per acre.

Boyle Investment Company is the developer, with Adam Ballash as Partner and Director of Development and Phil Fawcett as Managing Partner of Boyle Nashville. Greg Gamble of Gamble Design Collaborative is the planning and design partner and was a co-applicant on the zoning case.

Where the site is

The address on city records is 1247 Hillview Lane, at the end of Hillview Lane below Winstead Hill, west of Columbia Pike (US 31) and south of the future Mack Hatcher southwestern extension. The primary entrance is planned off Coleman Road. The Target center on Columbia Avenue sits near the Hillview Lane end of the site.

From 1247 Hillview Lane, Franklin's Public Square is about 3.6 miles and 9 minutes away in free-flowing traffic, downtown Nashville about 25 miles and 37 minutes, and Nashville International Airport about 25 miles and 39 minutes (OpenStreetMap routing, no traffic).

How Franklin approved it

The approval took nearly two years and four deferrals. The Planning Commission first reviewed the project in September 2024 under Franklin's Envision Franklin plan, which changed the land from Development Reserve to Village Green with a special consideration allowing the three-story townhomes and small multifamily buildings, plus up to 80 hospitality keys. The Commission came back on April 24, 2025 and voted unanimously to recommend the plan of services, annexation and rezoning, with the development plan passing 6 to 1.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen took up first reading on May 13, 2025 and passed annexation and rezoning 7 to 1. From there the Board deferred the final vote four times: June 24, 2025 to July 8; July 8 to August 12; August 12 to November 11, while a county interlocal agreement on Hillview Lane and Coleman Road maintenance got worked out; and November 11 to March 24, 2026.

Second reading on March 24, 2026 passed annexation and zoning 7 to 1 again, but the Board deferred the development plan itself to April 28 after the applicants filed a late change extending Mack Hatcher to Chimeric Drive and adding a new road to Hillview Lane near the entrance.

On April 28, 2026, the Board gave final approval: the plan of services passed 6 to 2, annexation passed 5 to 3, the Planned District zoning passed 6 to 2, and the development plan with 15 modifications passed 5 to 3. The same meeting approved a road impact fee offset agreement with Boyle, capped at $4,598,243, and a parkland impact fee of $1,274,856 for the 242 units, both 8 to 0. Gamble told the Board that Boyle's own road contribution runs three to four times the $4.5 million in impact fees. A parkland fee amendment clarifying public access passed on consent September 8, 2026.

Opposition came from residents on Hillview Lane, Coleman Road and Lula Lane, and from the Shadow Green neighborhood, where the HOA asked the Board to deny a road connection through the subdivision. The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County also weighed in. The recurring concerns were traffic on Columbia Avenue and Coleman Road, the loss of Hillview Lane's tree tunnel, and growth generally. About 70 people attended Boyle's neighborhood meeting on August 6, 2025, and more than 100 attended the August 12, 2025 Board meeting. One resident asked the Board to delay until TDOT finished its own work on Columbia Avenue and Mack Hatcher.

Two conditions came out of that pushback. Phase 1 is capped at 150 homes until a second, northern road connection is built and accepted by the city, and the Board has to approve any request to go beyond that cap. Hillview Lane itself is protected as a Heritage Roadway and stays as it is, with only a gated emergency connection added at the cul-de-sac end before reaching the Harlin driveway; a separate new road crosses Hillview Lane to reach the site instead.

A longer list of road work also has to be finished before the project can grow past that cap. Before the first building permit, Boyle has to complete entry improvements at Coleman Road and the Coleman Road and Henpeck Lane intersections at Columbia Pike. Before the 151st home permit, or any Phase 2 commercial space, the city requires an improved western approach at Mack Hatcher and Columbia Avenue, a two-lane section of Mack Hatcher with an 8-foot multi-use path extended to a new intersection at Chimeric Drive, the extension of Chimeric Drive itself under the 2017 Shadow Green plan, and a new road connecting Hillview Lane to Mack Hatcher. All of it has to be accepted by both the city and TDOT.

Timeline

What it means if you own a home nearby

If you're on Hillview Lane, Coleman Road, Lula Lane or in Shadow Green, you already know this project was argued over for the better part of two years. The approval comes with conditions: Phase 1 stops at 150 homes until a second road connection is built, and the heavier road work at Mack Hatcher and Columbia Avenue has to be finished and accepted by the city and the state before the project can grow past that. Hillview Lane itself keeps its Heritage Roadway status and stays as it is.

That doesn't mean no change. Coleman Road and the Henpeck Lane intersection get work before the first building permit is even pulled, and Boyle's own target has construction starting early 2027. If you're weighing whether to sell before that work and the traffic that comes with it, it helps to know what your home is worth today. My free Franklin home value estimate uses real closed sales, not a guess.

Header photo: countryside near Franklin, by Kimo Quance. It shows the area, not the Asbury site.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Asbury in Franklin TN?

Asbury is the name Boyle Investment Company gave its approved development on the 311-acre former Harlin dairy farm at the end of Hillview Lane in south Franklin, starting September 1, 2026. The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen gave the project final approval on April 28, 2026, with up to 242 homes, 32,000 square feet of commercial space and an 80-key boutique hotel.

Is Harlin the same as Asbury?

Yes. Harlin is the farm: the Harlin family has lived on the land for nearly 70 years, and Tom Harlin started a dairy there in the 1960s, according to Boyle's project site. It's also the name the city uses for the case. Asbury is the brand Boyle Investment Company put on the project on September 1, 2026. City of Franklin ordinances, resolutions and meeting minutes still refer to it as the Harlin PUD Subdivision.

Where is the Harlin development?

At 1247 Hillview Lane in south Franklin, at the end of Hillview Lane below Winstead Hill, west of Columbia Pike (US 31). The primary entrance is planned off Coleman Road.

How many homes will Asbury have?

Up to 242 homes, per the city's entitlement table and the zoning the Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved on April 28, 2026. Boyle's own announcement and some press coverage describe 249 residences instead. The zoning cap is 0.78 units per acre on 311.21 acres.

How many acres is the Harlin/Asbury site?

City zoning and annexation records cover 311.21 acres, and Boyle's project website also calls it the 311-acre Harlin farm. Boyle's September 2026 announcement and several press reports describe about 375 acres. The two figures haven't been reconciled publicly as of October 2026.

When does construction start?

Boyle has said construction starts in early 2027, with off-site road work also targeted for that year. As of October 2026, no grading permit, building permit or site work has been reported.

Was Harlin annexed into Franklin?

Yes. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved annexation on April 28, 2026, by a vote of 5 to 3, after first reading passed 7 to 1 on May 13, 2025 and four later deferrals.

What is the vote history on Harlin/Asbury?

The Planning Commission reviewed it in September 2024 and voted unanimously in April 2025 on everything but the development plan, which passed 6 to 1. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen passed first reading 7 to 1 in May 2025, deferred the final vote four times between June and November 2025, passed second reading 7 to 1 in March 2026, and gave final approval on April 28, 2026: plan of services 6 to 2, annexation 5 to 3, zoning 6 to 2, and the development plan with 15 modifications 5 to 3. Full dates are in the timeline above.

Will there be a hotel at Asbury?

The city approved up to 80 hospitality keys as a boutique inn plus stand-alone cottages, with up to four suites per cottage building. No hotel brand or opening date has been announced.

What roads have to be built before Asbury can grow past Phase 1?

Before the first building permit, Boyle has to finish entry improvements at Coleman Road and the Coleman Road and Henpeck Lane intersections at Columbia Pike. Before the 151st home permit or any Phase 2 commercial space, a longer list applies: an improved western approach at Mack Hatcher and Columbia Avenue, a widened section of Mack Hatcher with a multi-use path extended to Chimeric Drive, the extension of Chimeric Drive itself, and a new road connecting Hillview Lane to Mack Hatcher. Phase 1 itself is capped at 150 homes until a second, northern road connection is built.

Watching Asbury, or weighing a move in south Franklin?

Whether you want the Harlin and Asbury names straight, you're trying to figure out what changes on your street, or you're deciding whether to sell before construction traffic starts, I can walk you through what's actually on the record for this part of Franklin. If you're watching this corridor as a future buyer, my buyer page covers how I work with buyers across Franklin and Williamson County. Reach out by DM, text, or call me at 615-392-1186.