WILLIAMSON COUNTY
Business leaders say creators and artists are key to economic development BY MAT T B LO I S
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t a chamber of commerce event welcoming Mitsubishi North America to Williamson County in late 2019, Franklin artist Roy Laws used rapid fire brush strokes to paint a Mitsubishi Lancer rounding a curve on a dirt track. As Laws painted, Mitsubishi North America CEO Fred Diaz praised Tennessee’s willingness to “bend over backwards” for the company. Laws set up his canvas before Diaz started speaking, and finished by the end of the event. Matt Largen, the CEO of the local chamber of commerce, Williamson Inc., presented the painting to Mitsubishi as a welcome gift. That’s in addition to $3 million in economic incentives from the state and a break in property taxes from Williamson County. That combination distills what companies get when they come to Williamson County: a creative community and a friendly business environment. Over the last two decades, Williamson County has become a magnet for corporate headquarters. Companies often cite the state’s relatively low tax burden and Williamson County’s strong school system as important factors in their decision to relocate or expand in Williamson County. Recently, businesses, local governments and artists are pointing to Middle Tennessee’s creators — the area’s musicians, chefs, actors and designers — as another important driver of economic development. “It’s incredibly important to what we do because quality of life matters so much now in economic decisions that companies make and people make,” Largen said. “They’re driven to the community by things like the arts and culture.”
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G U I D E TO W I L L I AM S O N CO U N T Y
Mitsubishi communications director Jeremy Barns wrote in an email that Williamson County’s historical preservation as well as access to music, theaters and museums did play a role in Mitsubishi’s decision to move to Williamson County. However, it was only one of several factors including local talent, cost of living and the business environment. At the event welcoming Mitsubishi to Williamson County, Barnes connected with Todd Morgan, the managing director for the Franklin theater company Studio Tenn. Morgan invited a group of Mitsubishi employees to a dress rehearsal for the theater’s production of Cinderella. Morgan said he often reaches out to local companies to build fundraising relationships, especially companies with employees moving to Williamson County from out of state. “They moved from New York or California, and they’re used to having arts in their backyard,” he said. “Even if the job is awesome and everything you want, they’re still going to want things outside of that. They’re still going to want their creature comforts. Where do I go to a basketball game? Where do I go to see live theater?”
‘We thought public art was kind of missing in Franklin, but we’re kind of made for it. Franklin as a whole is a great backdrop for public art.’ —— E L L I E W E STM A N C H I N
Mitsubishi came to Tennessee from Southern California, the center of the film and music industries. In 2019, the medical device company Medacta moved its U.S. headquarters to Franklin from Chicago, a theater and music hub. In 2018, the finance company Alliance Bernstein moved to Nashville from New York City, home to Broadway, Carnegie Hall and some of the best art museums in the world. Kim Moore, the site consultant for Newmark Knight Frank who played a key role in bringing the finance company Alliance Bernstein to Tennessee, said that decision started with a trip to the Pilgrimage Music and Arts Festival in Franklin.
MAT T B LO I S
