Uncertainty, feelings of loss and a lack of definitive answers about the future are all facing the owners of 10 State Street businesses, many of whom have spent decades in downtown Madison’s shopping district. A proposed 10-story, 481-unit apartment building would displace them from their current storefronts.

Core Spaces, a development firm known for building high-end student housing near college campuses, including two buildings downtown, is behind the plan that would raze much of the 300 block of State Street to make way for its building. Core opened The Hub, a 313-unit building on the 500 block of State Street, in 2015 followed by The James, a 366-unit project at 423 W. Gorham St., in 2017. The firm is  hoping to build a seven-story apartment building at 126 Langdon St.