Burger King Corporation announced January 20 that it has narrowed its list of potential sites for its world headquarters building to two sites in Miami-Dade County. The existing site located at 17777 Old Cutler Road is not included on the list of finalists. Burger King Corporation did not disclose the two sites on the list and plans to make its final selection within the next ninety days.

The sites were selected based on a number of criteria such as location, design, amenities, and economics. Both sites on the list are vacant properties and the final selection will involve the construction of a new building approximately 300,000 square feet in size. In addition to housing Burger King Corporation’s headquarters, the new building will also become the South Florida home office of other Diageo companies like United Distillers and Vintners (UDV), Guinness, and Pillsbury.

UDV currently holds office space in Waterford, near Miami International Airport, while Pillsbury has a small office in NW Miami. Guinness has its Caribbean and Central American regional office located in Boca Raton. “We are very pleased with the progress we have made in selecting the appropriate site for our world headquarters,” said Dennis Malamatinas, chief executive officer, Burger King Corporation.

“We are pleased with the final two sites and we now look forward to completing our process to make a final decision. We are also delighted to be remaining in Miami-Dade County since this is where our brand has its roots and it is from Miami that we have grown to become a global brand.” Burger King Corporation said that its existing building in South Miami- Dade County no longer meets its needs for use as the company’s long-term world headquarters.

The Miami office of CB Richard Ellis and other consultants have been assisting Burger King Corporation with the process of selecting a future site for the company’s world headquarters. Burger King Corporation has also hired the Smith Group design firm to help with designs of the new office spaces. Burger King plans to remain in its existing building until the expiration of the lease. That lease expires in September 2002. Burger King Corporation announced on October 27, 1998, that it would not exercise its option to purchase the Old Cutler Road property. Since that time, the Corporation has conducted a thorough review of its options for the appropriate site of its world headquarters building, with the help of CB Richard Ellis and other consultants.