The Dallas area and Chicago appear to be the finalists for the headquarters of the MillerCoors joint venture, with a final decision expected to be announced by the end of the month, according to sources familiar with the search.
Real estate brokers in both cities feel sure that the headquarters is heading their way, said Dale Ray, managing director of the Dallas office of Jones Lang LaSalle, a worldwide real estate services provider.
Ray was in JLL's corporate headquarters in Chicago when reached by the Dallas Business Journal.
"They're hearing here that (MillerCoors) has picked Chicago, and we're hearing it's Dallas," he said. "There's enough discussion about it being down to (Chicago and Dallas) that it seems to have some traction to it."
Ray, who is not directly involved in the search, said MillerCoors has scouted locations in downtown Dallas and the suburbs, including Plano, Frisco and the Las Colinas area of Irving. Ray said he's heard the company is looking for 150,000 to 300,000 square feet.
MillerCoors will decide where to locate by the end of the month, said Julian Green, a spokesman for the company. He would not say whether the search has been narrowed, how much space the company is looking for, or how many jobs the headquarters will involve.
"We are actively engaged in a search for our headquarters, and a decision will be made soon," he said. "What operations will move and what corporate functions will be at the headquarters are decisions that remain to be made."
MillerCoors currently leases 12,357 square feet for a regional office at Hall Office Park in Frisco, said Jean Farris, director of leasing for Hall Financial Group. She declined to say whether MillerCoors had scouted the Frisco park as a possible site for its headquarters.
Farris said MillerCoors is looking for less headquarters space than it originally planned because the joint venture will maintain substantial operations in Milwaukee and Golden, Colo. MillerCoors LLC is the recently formed joint venture of London-based SABMiller, whose U.S. operations are based in Milwaukee, and Golden, Colo., where it has Coors Brewing Co., the Denver subsidiary of Molson Coors Brewing Co.
Farris also said the search has been narrowed to Chicago and the Dallas area.
"It's very sought after," Farris said. "I think any city would want it. It would be great for the Dallas area to win."
The MillerCoors headquarters competition between Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth is reminiscent of 2001, when the Boeing Co. shortlisted both cities, along with Denver, after deciding to move from Seattle, Ray said. Chicago won that battle, but much has changed since then, he said.
Dallas is proving remarkably resilient during tough economic times, and the city has the advantage in terms of real estate costs, the quality of available labor and quality of life, Ray said. "I believe Dallas has the edge," he said.
Dallas' central business district has changed for the better as well, said Mike Wyatt, executive director of the Dallas office of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. Boeing in 2001 cited the cultural amenities of Chicago when it chose the Windy City, but downtown Dallas has made great strides to improve the museum, art, dining and entertainment scene downtown, as well as the public transportation system, he said.
"Both cities are strong," Wyatt said. "We're such a pro-business city. I think that may help us this time around."
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