The East Loop location is ideally situated to pull tenants from more than a dozen universities located in the surrounding area, says Scion president Rob Bronstein. "It's pretty preliminary," Bronstein tells GlobeSt.com. "The location is not any better than anywhere else in the city. We are where universities are." He says Scion is in early stages of investigating the property, and that no financing has yet been secured.

The building, on the northeast corner of Wabash Avenue and Lake Street, was built in 1927. Kimpton Hotels and Resorts had reportedly considered the building for a 220-room hotel. Scion has previously developed the Automatic Lofts, a 142-unit West Loop building, for University of Illinois at Chicago. They are also responsible for University Center of Chicago, a $150-million, 725,000-sf South Loop development for DePaul University, Roosevelt University and Columbia College.