FRANKLIN –– ESpaces president Jon Pirtle sat relaxed in a chair in front of his new office window, where he watched cars zoom around Franklin’s downtown roundabout and on Main Street.

Pirtle will open his second location in Franklin inside the 231 Public Square Building, a renovated structure that provides office space, restaurants, a rooftop eatery and a bank branch location. The construction has lasted three years and the building is expected to open in 2019.

Originally, Pirtle wasn’t sure on moving to downtown Franklin. The 231 Public Square building changed that.

“This is better than I imagined it would be,” he said. “When I was first talked to about this, I passed. I didn’t know how many people would come to downtown Franklin. But it all started rolling. I live out here, and live five minutes from the square. I used to always think, ‘I would kill for a great office space in downtown Franklin.’ A lot of stuff is older and harder to get into. This will definitely now be home base for me.”

He said it will be the company’s fourth location. ESpaces also expanded to Chattanooga, and has now branched out of state to start a Florida location. Pirtle’s new offices are window lined, with views of downtown Franklin from First Avenue to the Public Square.

The downtown Franklin space will offer private offices for one person or for teams of up to 15 people. Co-working spaces will also be offered.

May 2018:Espaces to expand office concept to downtown Franklin

“People want a great work space,” Pirtle said. “I cannot wait for this to open. In my opinion, this has become the premiere office in Middle Tennessee.”

Reasons for extra time

Developer Brian Schiedemeyer stood inside the enclosure of the rooftop restaurant space.

While around 70 percent of the building is leased out, Schiedemeyer’s prime spot in the building is still up for the taking. A 1,000 square foot space is still available on the second floor along with some basement space.

“The project is going good,” Schiedemeyer said. “We are looking to open up in middle January. The only thing that’s still really open is this rooftop. It’s sort of surprising. We have been somewhat selective on the type of tenant that comes up here because our primary objective was to get an operator who could have a restaurant but could be flexible and sophisticated enough to handle a private party business. Not everyone can do that.”

Schiedemeyer said they had exhausted their local options, and the building’s leasing agent was still reaching out to the brokerage community to find an option.

Adding the rooftop venue and reinforcing the building also took more time than anticipated, Schiedemeyer said. He added that becoming the building’s contractor, and custom finishing are what extended the opening date of the building, which has been pushed back throughout the last two years.

What’s going inside

Here’s the list of what businesses are going inside the building.

• First Tennessee Bank
• Ruby Slipper
• ESpaces
• Mizzouri
• Restore Wellness

To see inside the building, ESpaces will host a open house Dec. 19  from 4 to 8 p.m.

About the 231 Public Square Building

Developer Bernie Butler said he will finish the 1970s-era First Tennessee Bank building transformation in 2018. When it’s opened, it will have class A office space and two restaurants, including the square’s first rooftop bar. The bank also will have its branch space on the first floor.

In 2015, the 231 Public Square project got a green light from the Historic Zoning Commission to move forward with the transformation. According to Williamson County’s property assessor records, First Tennessee sold the bank building for $3.45 million.

Learn more about ESpaces Franklin here.