Shuttered Steak ‘n Shake in Rolling Meadows being converted into Citibank branch
From steakburgers and milkshakes to deposits and withdrawals: the long-vacant Steak ‘n Shake on Algonquin Road in Rolling Meadows is being converted into a Citibank branch.
The one-story, 4,732-square-foot commercial outlot building at 1501 W. Algonquin Road has become blighted and fallen into a state of disrepair since the local fast food franchisee closed in 2018, according to city officials.
Now the New York City-based financial services firm is the tenant under contract, with plans to renovate the building into a so-called Citibank Community Hub.
The old Steak ‘n Shake site and its neighbor, a Staples office supply store, are owned by a limited liability company controlled by a different bank, Republic Bank of Chicago, and an associated corporation, Inter Continental Real Estate & Development. That LLC signed off on a landlord authorization letter allowing Citibank to request a city special use permit for a new ATM drive-through.
The redevelopment calls for the existing drive-through lane to remain in place, but for the old window — where drivers would get burgers and shakes — to be filled in. A drive-up ATM will be installed on the northwest side of the building.
Renovations also will include Citibank’s “Blue Tower” design feature on the south side of the building, with a walk-up ATM for customers.
What had been the entrance to the retro-style dining room on the southwest side will shift to the southeast side, directly in front of parking.
Other site changes include removal of the abandoned grease trap and menu board, new exterior lighting and signage, resurfacing of the building facade and parking lot, installation of a dozen bicycle spaces, and planting of two trees, 108 shrubs and 54 containers of grasses throughout landscape islands and the site.
Traffic, parking and other site demands would be expected to be greater for a drive-through restaurant compared to a bank, Citibank officials wrote in their application to city hall.
Rolling Meadows staff agreed, and the city council last week granted the special use.
“These improvements will continue to enhance the overall appearance and value of the Marketplace of Rolling Meadows planned development, which continues to see incremental redevelopment and reinvestment,” city officials wrote in a memo to the council.
Citibank will join a roster of banks within a half mile, including Village Bank & Trust, Huntington Bank, First American Bank and Bank of America.
A construction timeline was not provided.