MillerCoors LLC, the beer making giant, has signed a 15-year-lease in a downtown Chicago office building, as it plans to relocate its headquarters from Milwaukee and Colorado to the Windy City. The move, a joint venture of Molson Coors Brewing Co. and SABMiller PLC, is expected in June 2009. The new offices will eventually house nearly 400 Chicago jobs.

Following a transaction to combine the U.S. and Puerto Rico operations of Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co. and Coors Brewing Company of Golden, Colo., the newly formed MillerCoors selected Chicago as the home city for its corporate headquarters.

The company announced over the summer that it would consolidate its headquarters and has been in negotiations with AEW Capital Management L.P., a Boston investment firm, to ink the deal for approximately 130,000 square feet of office space.

The new location provides a unique opportunity to establish MillerCoors identity as a beer company in downtown Chicago, MillerCoors chief executive officer Leo Kiely said.

“We are a beer company and you’ll know that as soon as you walk through the doors of our Chicago headquarters,” said Kiely. “The offices will showcase our brands and create a work environment that inspires our employees’ passion for beer.”

The headquarters will house a majority of MillerCoors senior executives, as well as marketing, human resources, legal, finance, information technology and communications divisions.

Chicago-based architecture and interior design firm VOA has been selected for the interior design and construction of the headquarters. As part of the project, VOA will develop sustainable and environmentally responsible designs.

The new headquarters will be ready for occupancy in June 2009 and will join Milwaukee and Golden as major business locations for the joint venture.

MillerCoors will continue to maintain significant operations in Milwaukee and Golden and plans to make major investments in both breweries, as well as in civic, cultural and sports sponsorships throughout Wisconsin and Colorado, according to MillerCoors management.

“Milwaukee will always be the home of Miller beer, and Golden will always be the home of Coors beer,” Kiely said.

Labels: Chicago Jobs