10 THINGS TO WATCH OUT IN 2020

The year 2019 was a time of waiting.

Waiting for big projects to come to fruition. Waiting to see how a key player in Michigan's business fabric recovers from a stroke. Waiting for the next shoe to drop — and the shoe after that, and so on — in the United Auto Workers corruption scandal.

Here is a list of 10 things to watch in the coming year for which the waiting could be up.

UAW fallout

The United Auto Workers has faced a turning point whose outcome is still very much up in the air. The long-running federal investigation of corruption at the union has resulted in charges that have gone all the way up to the top, and rooting out what remains of that culture will fall to new interim President Rory Gamble. Now that the union has contracts with the Detroit 3 automakers sealed up after negotations that included a lengthy strike at General Motors, it has a big challenge in winning back the trust of its members, and its reputation.

Gilbert's future

The most portentious event of 2019 for Southeast Michigan's business community and Detroit's resurgence may have been mortgage and real estate mogul Dan Gilbert's stroke in May. He has been said to be recovering and was seen in a video greeting employees, but has largely stayed out of the public eye. Gilbert is said to still be making decisions, and his businesses have continued operating and big decisions like selling casinos have been made, but much still depends on Gilbert's ongoing recovery.

Big projects rise

Progress has been slow on two of the biggest projects in the region: Gilbert's construction on the former Hudson's site and the massive Monroe Blocks project. But it has continued. Still to be sorted out is how tall the Hudson's building will wind up being — the ranges have gone from 734 feet to more than 900. Shortages of construction capacity have contributed to the slow progress and have slowed other projects in metro Detroit as well.