2 Detroit RenCen towers could be torn down as part of new plan

A new proposal for Detroit’s iconic Renaissance Center complex would tear down two 39-story towers and add housing as part of a $1.6 billion renovation project that would require public funding. 

Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock and General Motors Co. announced the conceptual plan to redevelop the 27-acre site along the Detroit riverfront as a “right-sizing” of the 5.5 million-square-foot footprint of the RenCen. The plan reduces office space in a post-pandemic era where demand has dropped and also includes the creation of an entertainment district.

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The plan would be mostly funded by GM ($250 million) and Bedrock ($1 billion) but would also require at least $250 million in public funding, much of it coming from the state, according to Crain’s Detroit Business.  

First opened in 1976, the Renaissance Center is Michigan’s most iconic and recognizable building. When GM purchased the building in 1996, it was a catalyst for the revitalization of downtown Detroit and the development of the Riverwalk. To date, GM has invested more than $1 billion in improvements to the RenCen site.

“This iconic landmark’s future is important to Detroit and Michigan, and our shared vision with General Motors ensures that its redevelopment aligns with Detroit’s economic advancement,” Kofi Bonner, CEO of Bedrock, said in a statement. “Additionally, our collaborative approach makes certain that the reimagined Renaissance Center and the riverfront further augment and support the city’s continued growth, benefiting the community and region at large.”

The Detroit Riverwalk has won awards and sees 3.5 million visitors each year. 

The plan includes the following:

• Creating a new pedestrian promenade connecting the heart of the city to the riverfront.
• Removing the low-rise base of the complex and the two office towers nearest the river, creating an inviting destination and reducing obsolete office space.
• Redeveloping three towers into a mix of hospitality and housing, preserving the essence of the skyline.
• Turning reclaimed land into signature public spaces.
• Reconfiguring the flow of the site to allow direct access to the buildings and the riverfront.

“GM has the best possible partner with Bedrock in this effort to redevelop the Renaissance Center,” Dave Massaron, vice president of Infrastructure and Corporate Citizenship for GM, said in the statement. “Nobody has repurposed more buildings in Detroit than Dan Gilbert and his Bedrock team. This is another chapter in their unprecedented commitment to building the best possible future for the city and Michigan.”

In April, GM announced plans to relocate its global headquarters next year from the RenCen to the nearby Hudson’s Detroit skyscraper on Woodward Avenue, owned by Bedrock. The 1.5 million-square-foot, 681-foot skyscraper is the second-tallest building in the city, after the central tower of the RenCen. 

The project has received a series of tax breaks and incentives from state and local officials, including a 10-year tax break worth $60 million in 2022. The site also qualified for a “transformational brownfield” tax capture estimated to total nearly $200 million for Bedrock through 2052.