Boxcar Betty’s Coming to Chicago

By Roxana Baiceanu

500 W. Madison St., Chicago

South Carolina’s fried chicken restaurant Boxcar Betty’s will be opening its first Chicago location. The retailer has leased 1,725 square feet at 500 W. Madison St., in an area which is home to one of the busiest commuter stations in the nation. The new store will be Boxcar Betty’s first location outside of its home state.

Completed in 1987, the 40-story Citigroup Center encompasses approximately 1.5 million square feet. It is LEED Gold certified and has been recently renovated, including its 78,000-square-foot retail component, The Marketplace at 500. According to Yardi Matrix data, KBS Realty Advisors bought the office tower in 2013 from GE Capital Real Estate for $425 million. In 2017, the owner refinanced it through a three-year, $1 billion financing commitment consisting of a $757.5 million term loan, the largest financing in KBS’s history.

The property is located in a transit-oriented area, adjacent to Metra’s Ogilvie Transportation Center, which sees more than 115,000 commuters daily. In addition to Boxcar Betty’s, there are 21 other restaurants operating at this location, including Arby’s, American Wildburger, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut.

CBRE’s Vice President Phil Golding represented the tenant in the transaction, while Senior Vice President Todd Siegel and Associate Kimberly Wiskup worked on behalf of the landlord.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix