The change of ownership of the old Sears building, a cornerstone structure in the revitalization of downtown Bangor, is a positive development for the city, but it is not likely to produce immediate results.

This week, the Sears building went from Charles Fitzgerald, described as an entrepreneur and environmentalist, to a previous owner, Robert Duerr, of Gouldsboro. Although Mr. Duerr’s intentions for the building are not known, it is assumed that he will repair the roof and stabilize the physical condition of the structure, which has been losing the battle with age and Mother Nature.

In fact, the three key properties controlled by Fitgerald in the downtown, the Sears, W.T. Grant and Freese’s Department Store buildings, have visibly deteriorated and for a variety of reasons have not met public expectations either for their individual reuse or for their role in a rejuvenated downtown.

Each surge in interest for a revitalized central business district has produced incremental improvement before yielding to inertia that developed, in part, because nothing significant happened to these major strucutres. There has been a widespread belief that more could be done with these old department stores if they were in different hands. The city soon will find out if that is the case.

The Grant building, which until recently housed a nightclub, restaurant and fitness salon, is about to go to auction. Freese’s is the subject of court proceedings involving Fitzgerald and the city, which in the past few years has been aggressive in enforcing code and facade ordinances.

Serious investment in the downtown has crested, temporarily, but it is in Bangor’s long-term interest to ensure that structures remain marketable and that they do not decay to the point where their appearance detracts from the value of other properties.

Sears, Grants, Freese’s, once the heart of Bangor’s retail sector, now are potential milestones in a redevelopment process that will have to wait out transfer of ownership, litigation and a recession.

Times are hard when success means working just so things do not get worse. But movement on these buildings, even if only a change of ownership, physical repairs and a change in perspective, is genuine progress.