Gillespie owns the Sears building and I assume his intentions are to redevelop the site, so it'd seem any renovation of the building would be unlikely. I'd also assume whoever owns the Staples building would be thinking more about building something new rather than renovating the old building. Assuming current trends persist (which I think they will), much of the Frandor area will slowly move toward multi-floor mixed use buildings and I'd expect any properties fronting Michigan Ave will be among the first to be redeveloped.
I actually think it would be good to do away with all the buildings on Clippert Street and start over there too. I know that will not happen for every property. Like you say it will happen for the areas right next to the new developments first. I also have no feelings about the Sears building other than they could make it look better for the period before they build something else.
I went by the site today and took a picture from the Frandor Plus parking lot. This picture shows the height of the water tower next to the building as well as the Frandor sign.
Was waiting at the Frandor bus stop this morning and somebody biked up who had apparently come from the SkyVue protest line and shared that they were paying takers $11/hr to stand on the line with them! He had decided he wasn't dressed for it today (too cold) and left, but said he was going back tomorrow properly dressed. And then just before the bus arrived somebody else ran up and he said "he was there with me, guess he decided it was too cold too". What in the world.
Not sure how much the developer is paying the non-union workers but it is customary for the union workers to demand that unions be hired for the job. Union workers pay union dues, some of which go towards helping to create more jobs. The protest line is one way that they work towards getting more union jobs. It also acts as a sort-of unemployment pay for union workers who are looking for work.
Sure, but what surprised me - maybe I wasn't clear - is that the union is apparently paying random people to stand on the line with them to make the protest look bigger.
(Unless the guy made all this up, of course. But I don't know why he would. He showed another passenger a business card supposedly with who to contact to get in on that sweet $11/hr.)
I don't know why those would be random people. They are likely construction workers that are part of the union who maybe didn't dress for the cold today? Either way, they are paying people to help get jobs for their union, not much different than paying someone to hold a sign in front of a business advertising a sale.
The principle behind unions is solid, but the reality is that many are corrupt and some are even still tied to organized crime. Hiring random people to act as protesters would be unsurprising.
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