Burger King to build new Headquarters in Florida

16/05/05 The Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County's official economic development partnership, is pleased to announce that Burger King Corporation, founded and based in Miami-Dade since 1954, has decided to build a new corporate world headquarters in Coral Gables. Burger King, which operates more than 11,220 restaurants in 61 countries with more than 340,000 employees worldwide, is currently headquartered at Waterford at Blue Lagoon near the Miami International Airport.

The company's decision means the retention of 600 jobs (450 headquarter jobs and 150 operations center jobs), as well as the creation of 60 new positions in Miami-Dade County within the next three years. Burger King has also committed to a new capital investment of $68 million for the construction of the new headquarters facility of approximately 300,000 square feet. This project is another example of the success of the Beacon Council's Local Business Local Jobs program, which focuses on assisting local companies and enhancing local business investment and employment.

Frank Nero, the president and CEO of the Beacon Council, emphasizes that Burger King's decision to relocate its headquarters and remain in Miami-Dade County will result in a significant economic impact to the area. The new headquarters facility will be a tax generator for the County, with more than $25 million in new tax revenues over the next 15 years. Approximately $10.3 million of these new tax revenues will go to the Miami-Dade Public School System, $6.7 million will go to the Miami-Dade General Fund, and the remaining $8.1 million will go toward the County Debt, the State, and other Districts.

The Beacon Council assisted Burger King with the applying and approval of the Miami-Dade County Targeted Jobs Incentive Fund (TJIF), the State of Florida Qualified Target Industry (QTI) Tax Refund, and the State of Florida Quick Response Training (QRT) Program. These incentives, along with $3 million from the State of Florida, will provide a total value of approximately $8.68 million. The package is comprised of tax refunds and performance-based incentives approved by Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, which will only be disbursed if Burger King meets specific criteria over the course of the next 15 years.