Convenience store chain eyes new Fulton Market HQ

The Chicago office market has been hammered by the pandemic, but one local convenience store company is eyeing a bigger headquarters in Fulton Market.

Foxtrot Market is nearing a deal to ink a 30,000-square-foot lease at the massive 167 N. Green Street, according to Crain’s. Shapack Partners and Focus own the 750,000-square-foot building, which opened last year and counts WeWork and CCC Information Services among its tenants.

The new office space would be nearly four times the size of Foxtrot’s current HQ at 440 N. Wells Street in River North, according to the report. The company, which runs upscale shops, recently announced it had closed a $42 million Series B funding round, and would be adding stores. Foxtrot, led by CEO and co-founder Michael LaVitola, said it would double its store count to 19, adding four more locations in Chicago, along with one in Dallas and Washington, D.C., the Chicago Tribune has reported.

Foxtrot’s pending deal at 167 Green Street would also include a retail location in the 17-story building, according to Crain’s. In July, CCC, which provides software to process auto insurance claims, said it would scale back its space at the complex because of Covid, from 180,000 square feet to 125,000 square feet. WeWork inked a deal for 140,000 square feet in April 2019.

If the Foxtrot lease closes, it would be good news for the Chicago office market, which has been whipsawed by the virus. A recent CBRE report showed downtown office vacancy ballooned to 15.5 percent, a figure that could rise to 20 percent if under-construction projects don’t immediately sign tenants once work is completed. CBRE is advising Foxtrot in its office space search.

[Crain’s] — Alexi Friedman