City of Chicago Approves TIF for MillerCoors

CHICAGO-The city of Chicago has approved $6 million in tax-increment financing to enable MillerCoors LLC to headquarter in Chicago. The company, a joint venture between Molson Coors Brewing Co. and SABMiller PLC, has previously been based out of Milwaukee and Denver.

The Community Development Commission approved the financing measure, which will cover nearly 28% of the $21.8 million renovation costs. The headquarters will be located at 250 S. Wacker Dr.

“We are pleased to see these plans come to fruition,” says Christine Ragusa, Chicago’s acting commissioner for the department of community development. “Not only did Chicago get chosen over Dallas, TX, in the competition for these headquarters, but our city stands to benefit from the jobs this company will bring and the new life it will bring to an office building that has experienced a high vacancy rate.”

According to reports, the City of Chicago and MillerCoors have agreed that within five years at least 325 people will be employed in the 14-story building. Miller Coors has signed a 15-year lease for more than half the building, taking 129,122 square feet. The local office of CB Richard Ellis is responsible for the property’s leases. The average asking rental rate is $23.50 per square foot, per year.

Architecture and design firm VOA has been tapped to renovate the space, which will have an environmentally friendly design.

MillerCoors decided to move to Chicago in July after the two companies merged. Jones Lang LaSalle helped the beer company locate and lease 250 S. Wacker Dr. The building is owned by Boston-based AEW Capital Management LP, which paid $57 million for the 247,000-square-foot asset in 2007.