People here will eat this news up:
The Student Book Center is closing and getting demolished so the land can be added to The Maxwell.
They are already holding a going out of business sale (they just announced their closure yesterday - the owners of the property opted to sell) and the most recent version of the The Maxwell proposal includes the SBC property:
https://www.tempe.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=40112
The delay in discussion by the review commission is largely due to this property being incorporated into the plan:
"2/22/16: At the applicant’s request, the cases were pulled from the February 9, 2016 DRC agenda, and a fourth submittal was made that included the property on the immediate southwest corner of College and 7th Street."
The Student Book Center says they may open in the new building, but that would be years away (and honestly may not be consistent with the sort of uses that will be in The Maxwell).
The building plans themselves haven't changed much, but the land will be used to have more green space/buffer as the north tower of The Maxwell is further west than the south tower.