New Mars Petcare HQ Coming to Nashville

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Mars Petcare

Franklin, Tenn.—Highwoods Properties Inc. will develop the new U.S. headquarters for Mars Petcare in the Cool Springs district of Franklin, Tenn.

The 224,000-square-foot property, which will consist of two connected LEED Gold certified office buildings, will be part of the Ovation development. The 145-acre Ovation will be a high-density, mixed-use development with 56 acres of perpetually dedicated preserved green space.

Highwoods will serve as the owner and developer of the office portion of Ovation, which is planned for up to 1.4 million square feet. Thomas Land & Development is the developer of the non-office portions of Ovation.

“The development is part of a dynamic mixed-use Ovation project, which will ultimately feature 480,000 square feet of retail, two hotels and 950 residential units in addition to Highwoods’1.4-million square feet of office space,” Brian Reames, Highwoods Properties’ senior vice president, told Commercial Property Executive.

The estimated cost of the pre-leased development project with structured parking is $96 million, including the value of Highwoods-owned land.

“Ovation is the heartbeat of the heart of Williamson County, an area where Mars Petcare has become a significant part of a wonderful community,” Reames said. “To be able to office within a walkable environment that includes retail, entertainment, residential units and a significant portion of preserved green space checks a lot of boxes.”

According to Reames, working with Mars Petcare means that Highwoods has earned the opportunity to work with one of the most widely respected, internationally recognized and admired companies in the world.

“For the last 11 years, we have called Franklin home and we’re excited about our new U.S. headquarters at Ovation, one of the largest planned mixed-use projects in Williamson County,” Renee Peets, vice president and executive project sponsor of Mars Petcare, said. “It’s an exciting project, ideally situated in a vibrant location, and will bring the best of ‘work, rest and play’ to our nearly 1,000-area associates and their pets.”

Construction is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2017, with a second quarter 2019 targeted completion date.

Image courtesy of Hastings Architecture Associates