It sounds like 401 S. State – long occupied by Robert Morris, now largely vacant – might soon change hands. I've always though the university's use of the ground floor space left a lot to be desired, so hopefully whatever comes next can become a better steward of that block of State Street.
State Street north of the Palmer House feels largely back to its pre-pandemic self, but State Street from the Palmer House south to Ida B. Wells feels pretty barren right now. Of course, the battle for the Century & Consumers building block is a huge part of it. The Beef 'n Brandy hotel conversion also seems to have stalled since Covid started.
209-227 S. State (former Woolworth's building) is also for sale:
https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/209-...o-IL/26612789/ The broker is marketing it as a development opportunity, with a speculative rendering of a new tower in place of the current building. I would think that if you wanted to build a new tower you'd at least set it back a bit and keep the amazing Art Deco base, but what do I know.
Hopefully this part of the Loop gets some momentum back soon. There is a lot of development in the works just over on Wabash.