Jewel-Osco moving its headquarters to Itasca
Jewel's "fresh ideas" will soon be emanating from Itasca.
Jewel-Osco is moving its headquarters from its massive Melrose Park facility to the former headquarters of OfficeMax in Itasca.
Jewel-Osco, the largest grocery chain in the Chicago area with 184 stores, said Monday it will move more than 400 headquarter jobs to Itasca sometime this summer.
The Melrose Park facility, which it has occupied for 53 years, will continue its distribution operations with 1,500 workers.
"This event marks a new chapter in the growth of our company," said Keith Nielsen, president of Jewel-Osco, a subsidiary of Minnesota-based Supervalu since 2006.
No jobs will be lost during the move, according to Public Affairs Director Miguel Alba.
"The move helps us remain central to our stores," Alba said, adding the Melrose Park headquarters needs a "major overhaul."
Jewel-Osco intends to occupy more than half of the Itasca building at 150 Pierce Road, taking up 97,000 square feet.
Built in 2002, the building is part of the 300-acre Hamilton Lakes Office Park, which has multiple uses including restaurants, day-care centers, health clubs and a Hyatt and Westin hotels.
The six-story facility includes a two-story atrium and a parking garage.
"I think Jewel was taken by all the amenities," said Patrick McKillen, a partner at Hamilton Partners, a real estate developer that manages the facility.
Jewel-Osco also announced a major remodeling campaign, aiming to remodel 30 stores this year alone. Local remodeling and build-outs will continue until 2010, the company said.
The remodeled stores will emphasize the chain's new "premium fresh and healthy" design, which includes the Fresh Produce, Chef's Kitchen Deli, Bake Shop, Service Meat & Fish and Fresh Floral sections.
Supervalu previously announced plans to remodel 80 percent of its stores within a seven-year period.
The costs of the remodeling and headquarters move were not revealed.
Jewel-Osco said it intends to put the office space at its Melrose Park facility up for sale.
The new Itasca headquarters of Jewel-Osco has been empty since OfficeMax moved its headquarters to Naperville in mid-2007, McKillen said.