Reasonable point on the Penobscot. It's not right on the park, but it's close.
As for the vacancy numbers, Bedrock's website lists office availabilities of 2,414, 4,950, and 5,220 square feet [[total: 12,584). The FN is approximately 800,000 square feet, based on a quick Google search. So that's not a very high vacancy percentage.
Now, some of it could be under renovation, but, again judging by the rest of their website, which lists space that is obviously under renovation [[i.e. you can see the construction lights and unfinished walls and ceilings through the windows) as available, I don't think that's the case with the FN, or at least not a large portion of it. Here's an example - 1505 Woodward: http://www.bedrockmgt.com/properties...d=40&suite=100
That building is a construction site - it's completely gutted. And yet Suites 100-800 are all listed as "available." Gilbert may do things like turn on the lights in vacant or under-renovation space to make the city look brighter, but he isn't lying about the space he has available or not available.
Finally, on Jos. A Bank's, I really think the problem is that the Ren Cen is just an awful place to be a retailer. The Wintergarden is pretty, but the upper floors are dead ends, which is horrible retail design. Restaurants, fast food, and convenience stores like CVS work because of the many office workers and hotel guests, but people don't go to the Ren Cen to shop.
I do think Jos. A Bank could work downtown on an actual storefront on the street, although probably only somewhere that already gets a lot of a foot traffic. The First National Building's retail [[which does have quite a bit of vacancy) might be a good spot.
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