Franklin officials to review Mandel Group plans for apartments, retail space

Franklin officials will review plans on Thursday for a 78-unit apartment complex and a 358-unit residential and commercial project after property managers presented concepts in early October.

Members of the Franklin Plan Commission will decide whether to approve plans for M1 at Ballpark Commons and The Retreat after developers’ revision. Milwaukee-based Mandel Group partnered with Franklin-based ROC Ventures to present plans for more than 400 apartments, retail space and a hotel in early October.

Plans for The Retreat, near West Loomis Road, were slimmed from four to five lots for retail space with 430 apartment units in October plans to three lots for commercial space and 358 dwelling units in the latest agenda.

Plans for M1 at Ballpark Commons, near Rawson Avenue and Ballpark Drive, included 78 apartments in a three-story building and nearly 6,000 square feet of retail space on roughly 3 acres.

Responding to M1’s plans, Principal Planner Régulo Martínez-Montilva said the city development team was “concerned” after Mandel Group requested apartments on the first floor next to commercial space, a memorandum showed. The Ballpark Commons Planned Development District aims to have office, commercial and retail spaces on the ground floor and residential apartments on the upper stories.

Developers showed plans for The Retreat, M1 and The Public Square to the Franklin Common Council on Oct. 6. City officials didn’t take any action because it was a presentation, meeting minutes showed.

Plans for The Public Square, a redevelopment at the Orchard View Shopping Center, were absent from the plan commission agenda. The Mandel Group said it had plans for retail space, apartments and a hotel.