(CBS-DETROIT) – General Motors and real estate firm Bedrock on Monday announced a development plan for the Renaissance Center and 27 acres along the Detroit Riverfront.
The proposal calls for preserving Detroit’s skyline, reducing the complex’s footprint and connecting the site to “the heart of downtown.”
“The future of this iconic landmark is important to Detroit and Michigan, and our shared vision with General Motors ensures its redevelopment aligns with Detroit’s economic progress,” said Kofi Bonner, CEO of Bedrock. “Additionally, our collaborative approach ensures that the revamped Renaissance Center and riverfront will further enhance and support the city’s continued growth, benefiting the community and the region as a whole.”
Bedrock-Gensler-Rossetti
GM and Bedrock propose:
- Creating a new pedestrian promenade that connects the heart of the city with the riverfront.
- Removing the complex’s low-rise base and the two office towers closest to the river creates an inviting destination and reduces outdated office space.
- Redevelop three towers into a mix of catering and residential, while retaining the essence of the skyline.
- Turning reclaimed land into a distinctive public space.
- Reconfiguring the flow of the site to allow direct access to the buildings and riverfront.
The two companies came together in April announced an agreement that called for plans to redevelop the RenCen and have GM move its headquarters to a new space in 2025 on the site of the former JL Hudson department store in downtown Detroit.
“GM has the best possible partner in Bedrock in this effort to redevelop the Renaissance Center,” said Dave Massaron, Vice President of Infrastructure and Corporate Citizenship for General Motors, in a press release. “No one has repurposed more buildings in Detroit than Dan Gilbert and his Bedrock team. This is a new chapter in their unprecedented commitment to building the best possible future for the city and Michigan.”
Bedrock-Gensler-Rossetti
While Bedrock and GM have committed to financing the majority of the redevelopment project, the remainder is dependent on public financing. The two sides will meet with state and local leaders in the coming weeks to determine whether it is possible to move forward with the plan.
“We said from the very beginning of this process that we were going to make a realistic decision about preserving as much of the Renaissance Center as possible,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in a statement. “Dan Gilbert’s vision gives us a path forward to preserve and reuse three of the towers while creating a beautiful extension of public space on Detroit’s riverfront. We need a public-private partnership to make this happen and avoid the decades of inaction that accompanied so many other Detroit landmarks, such as Hudson’s, Michigan Central Station, the AMC Headquarters and the Packard Plant, I am grateful for Dan Gilbert’s leadership in his efforts to avert that fate the Renaissance Center.
The concept of the RenCen was first conceived by Henry Ford II in the 1970s and opened in 1976. GM purchased the complex in 1996 and moved its world headquarters there after renovations.
