People from Mars may land in Cool Springs

Company could announce a large campus in the next few weeks, south of the future headquarters of Nissan North America

Email | Print By Richard Lawson

Mars Inc.'s petcare business could be just weeks away from announcing a 225,000-square-foot campus along a burgeoning corridor in Franklin to house its North American pet food headquarters, sources have told NashvillePost.com.

A new campus would be the by-product of the acquisition by McLean, Va.-based Mars earlier this summer of the U.S. operations of Doane Pet Care, which real estate brokers say is in about 60,000 square feet of Brentwood office space. At the time, Mars – one of the nation's largest privately held companies, the maker of M&Ms, Snickers and Starburst – said it would move petcare executive management from Los Angeles suburb Vernon, Calif., to Nashville. Some 60 to 100 managers, maybe more, were expected to move to the area. Sources said the new campus would include administrative and research and development functions.

Janet Miller, senior vice president for economic development for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, wouldn't comment on Mars' plans. A Mars company spokeswoman couldn't be reached for comment.

The petcare business is under the Mars' Masterfoods USA division based in Hackettstown, N.J. Its pet food brands include Pedigree, Whiskas, Sheba, Cesar and others. Interestingly, Playa del Rey, Calif.-based advertising firm TBWA/Chiat/Day handles Pedigree and Whiskas. The firm is finishing out space in Nashville's Cummins Station for a satellite office to handle its account with Nissan.

The campus would be located at the future intersection of Carothers Parkway and Liberty Pike, helping seed further development along the east side of Interstate 65. Nissan North America's future headquarters will be to the north along Carothers. Eventually, Carothers will connect Moores Lane with Highway 96 to the south.

In addition to Mars, Podiatry Insurance Company of America based in Brentwood is said to be looking at building a 90,000-square-foot headquarters building to replace its much smaller one at 110 Westwood Place in Brentwood. Another project being considered for the intersection would have 116,000 square feet of office condominiums, according to sources.