This Saturday, Nov. 7, Macy's lights its Great Tree in the Walnut Room at 111 N. State St. for the 119th time. Across the street, Block 37 sold last month for $30 million, less than half of what it sold for in 2012, according to Block Club Chicago.
Every holiday date in the Loop is where it was last year. Meanwhile, two of the biggest commercial properties on the strip changed hands in 2026 for a small share of their earlier value. The new owners and tenants are filling them with a dinner-circus, sewing classes, a climbing gym and a bookstore with vinyl, all places that work best when people come back more than once.
Two sales that reset the price of State Street
Block 37 and the retail space wrapped around the Palmer House are the two clearest cases. Here is how the 2026 deals compare with what came before.
| Property | Earlier figure | 2026 deal | Occupancy at sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block 37, 108 N. State St. | 2012 sale price, more than double the 2026 price | $30 million to Edwards Realty Company, October | 65% |
| Palmer House retail, 17 E. Monroe St. | Valued at up to $92 million in 2015 | About $5 million, retaken by Thor Equities, September | About 35% |
The reported Palmer House price differs slightly by outlet. Chicago YIMBY puts it at $5.2 million and Bisnow at $5.1 million. Either way, the hotel's 68,000 square feet of street-level retail, spread across three street fronts, now costs its owner a fraction of the 2015 figure.
A lower purchase price gives an owner room to try things a 2012 price never allowed. Edwards Realty president Ramzi Hassan said as much to Block Club Chicago:
"Michigan Avenue is recovering quite well, and we think State Street is bound to do that. We're in at the right basis to make the investments that we need to make to really serve the community and carry out what we think … could really work here."
Ald. Bill Conway of the 34th Ward called the purchase "a significant vote of confidence in downtown Chicago's momentum" in a statement Block Club published.
What the lower price is buying
Edwards describes its plan for Block 37 as a "modern experiential destination" with year-round programming and entertainment, plus a new name to be unveiled in the new year. The building already leans that way. As of Oct. 7, its open tenants included AMC, Five Iron Golf, First Ascent Climbing Gym, Magnolia Bakery, Sephora, Akira, Zara and Banana Republic Factory Store. The owner also plans holiday programming this season and intends to survey shoppers and commuters with signs in the building and the Pedway, QR codes and social media.
The newest names on the street follow the same pattern.
Mood Fabrics, 109 S. State St. The famous New York fabric store opened its first Chicago showroom in September inside the Palmer House retail block. The 2,000-square-foot space carries no bolts of fabric. Shoppers browse 8,000 samples and order online, and the store is built around classes and community events. Its November calendar includes Sew Your First Tote on Nov. 7, Beginner Friendly Kimono on Nov. 8 and the Sewing the Palengke Market Tote Workshop on Nov. 17, plus free open-sewing meetups on Thursdays.
Barnes & Noble, 150 N. State St. The bookseller took over the former Old Navy flagship in late August. Chicago YIMBY called it the largest store opening on State Street since the pandemic. It is three stories and 30,000 square feet, the chain's largest store in the city, and a café is planned for the upper level once work is finished. The store's page lists toys and games and a vinyl section.
Kermess, 32 W. Randolph St., 14th floor. Teatro ZinZanni left the spiegeltent on top of the Cambria Hotel in January after more than five years. Circensia Entertainment Group, a production company that stages original circus shows in Miami, Las Vegas and New York, took over the space and renamed it Kermess. The 300-seat room pairs dinner and cocktails with contemporary circus and cabaret. "It's unique. Even in the U.S., there's no other place like that," co-founder Charlie Maréchal told Block Club Chicago.
Mariela, 1 W. Washington St. Chefs Rishi Kumar and Zubair Mohajir, known for Mirra in Bucktown, opened this global seafood restaurant on the ground floor of the Staypineapple Hotel, across from Primark, in the space that used to be Atwood.
Smaller storefronts are filling in too. Raygun, the Iowa novelty T-shirt shop whose first Chicago store is on Clark Street in Andersonville, opened its second on North State in a former Claire's. Rocky Mountain Chocolate opened its first Chicago store next door on a 10-year lease. The Chicago Loop Alliance counts 48 businesses opened or announced in the Loop in 2026.
Some stores also left. Foot Locker closed both of its State Street stores. Block 37 lost Potting Bench Plant Studio. Taken together, the openings and planned spaces helped bring the Loop's retail vacancy rate down from 26% to 24.7% as of September 2026, per Crain's figures cited by Chicago YIMBY.
What's still in the works
Several projects on these blocks have no announced opening date. Edwards wants to bring food and drink back to Block 37's third floor, where Latinicity used to be. Block Club reports that about $10 million went into the food hall's infrastructure, and Edwards plans to put it to use. No tenants have been named. At 20 S. State St., Gap Brands has a permit to renovate a 13,000-square-foot, two-story store across from the recently opened Gap Factory Store. The Loop Alliance lists that address as Old Navy.
The largest project is two blocks west. Google's latest Thompson Center designs show public shops and restaurants on the ground floor, plus a plaza and atrium meant for food, shopping and seasonal events. According to Block Club Chicago, the plans include a new Clark-and-Lake CTA entrance. Tenant buildouts start in 2027 and the building opens in 2028.
That leaves this season with the older traditions alongside the new arrivals that are already open.
A State Street December, north to south
- Barnes & Noble, 150 N. State St. Start at the top of the strip in the old Old Navy flagship.
- Kermess, 32 W. Randolph St. The official calendar lists Premonitions Inc. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Nov. 6 through Dec. 27, plus Dec. 31.
- Macy's, 111 N. State St. The Great Tree lighting is Nov. 7 from noon to 5 p.m. The Walnut Room holiday menu runs Nov. 7 through Jan. 10, 2027, Santaland runs Nov. 7 through Dec. 24, and Holiday Square runs Nov. 20 through Dec. 24.
- Block 37, 108 N. State St. Five Iron Golf, First Ascent and Magnolia Bakery are open now, with the new owner's holiday programming expected this season.
- Christkindlmarket, Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington St. The market's 30th year runs Nov. 20 through Dec. 24. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, with 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Choose Chicago notes a special 30th-anniversary design on this year's souvenir mug.
- Mariela, 1 W. Washington St. Dinner across the street from the market.
- Mood Fabrics, 109 S. State St. Thursday open sewing, or a tote workshop on Nov. 7 or Nov. 17.
- Industry Ales Brewpub, 230 S. Wabash Ave. It reopened Aug. 12 after a water-main break closed it in March, according to Eater Chicago.
Other dates in the Loop, from Choose Chicago:
- Holidays @ Skydeck: Nov. 13, 2026, through Jan. 4, 2027, in its second year
- Chicago Thanksgiving Parade: Nov. 26, 7:45 to 10 a.m., on State Street from Ida B. Wells Drive to Randolph Street, in its 92nd year
- Joffrey Ballet's Nutcracker: Dec. 4 through 27 at the Lyric Opera House, set during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
- Get Lit, Santa's Book Fair at the American Writers Museum: Dec. 9, after hours, with local independent bookstores and photos with Santa
If you own a condo near State Street, these sales tell you something about the blocks around your building. Buyers will be walking past the new storefronts all season. Matt Laricy and the LARICY Team sell downtown homes every week and can show you how to price your place while the street fills back in. List with Laricy and put your home in front of more buyers this season.
