The GM Renaissance Center could end up having an appointment with the wrecking ball if no buyer is found for the building in a reasonable amount of time after The General confirmed in Spring 2024 that it is moving its global HQ to the Hudson’s Detroit building.
While General Motors CEO Mary Barra hasn’t explicitly stated that the “RenCen” could be headed for demolition, she also did not deny the possibility when questioned on the topic during a recent interview, The Detroit Free Press reports.
When asked, “Are any of the thought processes demolishing the building?” Barra replied, “Yeah, we’re first looking at what can be done and what would be the appropriate use for the business.” She also noted that GM has about a year to determine the fate of the Renaissance Center since the move won’t come until 2025.
Reading between the lines, it appears GM is still strongly interested in finding a new use for the Renaissance Center. The chief executive described the Center as “prime real estate,” with some mix of commercial and high-end residential use considered likely for the building’s future. However, should all these possibilities fail to materialize, Barra seems to indicate demolition might be picked as a last resort.
Rendering of Hudson’s Detroit
The new GM headquarters will occupy the top two floors of Hudson’s Detroit, with vehicle showrooms at street level and the possibility of eventually expanding its occupancy into the rest of the building. The advent of remote work with the COVID-19 pandemic has cut down on the need for massive cubicle farms, though Barra also said most employees are happy to return to the office.
The Renaissance Center has faced an uncertain future for the better part of the last decade, however. Even before the pandemic arrived, GM mulled selling the building as part of its restructuring initiative. In the same year, 2019, the automaker sold the 260-room Marriott Hotel attached to its HQ for an undisclosed amount.
Moving forward, The General’s RenCen plans remained “unclear” in the Summer of 2022 as food vendors and other supporting businesses vacated the premises following the drop in on-site employee numbers. In July 2022 Mary Barra said the company’s headquarters would remain in the Renaissance Center nevertheless, an assertion that has now been proven premature.
GM also agreed to a lower tax credit from Michigan for the RenCen in exchange for the state removing a 4,000-person minimum employee count as one of the conditions for the credit, a change that came about in early 2020 immediately before COVID-19 reached U.S. shores.
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Comments
Sport arena / civic festival area to expand riverfront experience.
When I visited that site in 1989, it had plenty of visitors, especially to see the rotating restaurant at the top. I see it more useful as residencial property, but some can become office space, too. It is an important Detroit landmark.
To a good residential unit. It would take millions to convert. Also who wants to live down town?
Most companies want smaller facilities as they have less staff. The utilities are way over the top.
There is no rush for anyone to want this.
If left empty it will be vandalized and homeless will move in doing more damage than can be repaired. Then it comes down.
The loss of a landmark like this represents what the old school union think and the poor management of the city government.
These cities in the great lakes area are dying but not far away cities like Columbus Ohio thrive. The areas around Columbus has not only new Chip plants but also most of Hondas North American foot print that is non union.
The next thing is the UAW sign an expensive contract but they are going to lose many jobs due to the coming EV regulations. Stillantis already is doing this. They also are letting many go in Auburn Hills from engineering.
C8.R why are you against the unions and good paying jobs with great healthcare and a pension??? This building has nothing to do with a Union this was Corporate GM back then showing the world how powerful they where in their high tower! Believe me I work for UPS I know what I’m talking about this younger generation is going to be sorry unions are gone with no job protection then I guarantee it won’t happen now but slowly wages will be cut as well as jobs because the employees have no say in anything. Unions aren’t the problem corporate scum that can’t make enough millions or billions every year is the problem….I sat to Honda, Toyota and every car company you want to do business here then join the union. I agree the UAW isn’t perfect but that could be changed if they had more members to vote to. Further more why do Hondas abd Toyotas cost as much if not more then GM union made cars and trucks? The consumer is not seeing any savings in the price by not having a union! We need to take this country back before it’s truly to late!
Apartments
They should demolish it a symbol of what Kathleen-Kennedy Barra has done to the company.
Which is hit record revenue targets, improve quality (seriously, look at the interior of a pre Mary and post Mary vehicle), record ATP prices, high stock prices and so on. Seems she has done a ton for GM. But because she is a woman you think it is all bad I am guessing…
Haha more liberal bs. It has nothing to do with being a woman. It’s has to do with poor business decisions she’s has made.
Record ATP prices= gouging the customer because of Covid
Supply chain issues
Years long wait for some orders
Lost market share……
If she were a man she would have been fired long ago.
Yet GM is one of only three companies that are doing ok. Just look at the others with. Low stock prices and mergers and partnerships to survive.
GM is in fact NOT “doing ok”. Barra started off her time at GM on a good note. She handled the ignition switch ordeal well. BUT, she has made many, many poor choices in the direction of GM due to greed and arrogance. GM’s market share currently stands at 7.1%. The lowest it has ever been. And I take extreme issue with TMI saying that she has improved quality! It is anything but improved. Record number of recalls, engines failing at an astounding rate. An EV program that is still struggling to get its footing while EV competitors have left GM behind. Production, option constraints and logistics while better than 2021-2022 are still a hot mess compared to other brands. GM has also stopped listening to its customers. Getting rid of trims and options customers liked (Think no more Applecarplay/Android auto or Premier trim on Chevys)
I don’t care if Mary is a man, a woman or lemur, She should have been gone long ago. So lets be clear… GM will find itself playing catchup and struggling to survive for the next several years, if it does at all.
Don’t worry they will most likely demolish it because that is the 21st century answer to everything including what Barra has done to GM as a whole. The amount of money and resources we waste these days is off the charts!
Of course, it’s “prime real estate” in Barra’s Detroit-loving jaded eyes. But most of America considers Detroit a massive blight (like several other Rust Belt cities) and folks have no desire to live there. Massive waste of money, but it’ll go.
Detroit is on an economic upswing, check up the facts. And I am seeing it with my own eyes every day. Again you are generalizing your personal opinion to “most of America”. I cannot speak for the other “Rust Belt cities” but I am sure it is not as bad as you want to make it look.
Belo don’t mind Beachy he could win the lottery and still be miserable lol! This should be apartment buildings why not instead of another piece of history gone….like the railroads almost everything in NY that once was a railroad building was torn down throughout the state what a shame!
GM built the building too large than they needed to give impression GM was the largest car company in the world. that isnt the case anymore. GM canada closed its main office too in oshawa and sold it off, sad but reality
GM didn’t build the Ren Center. It was aquired in the mid 90’s under the incompetent leadership of Jack Smith and his underling Rick Wagoner, and serves as a monument to these men who high Jacked a company during a board coup and drove it into bankruptcy.
It was purchased from Ford….
The Ren Cen was built by the Ford family. GM bought the building in the 90’s because it was cheaper than re-wiring the GM building on West Grand Blvd.
I suggested bulldozing it last year, but joking of course.
HOMER: Exactly. It was built originally as a Hotel- Mixed use structure in tje early 70s. I studied it and the Architect (John Portman) when I was in school. There are near carbon copies of the RenCen in Downtown LA (originallly the Bonaventure Hotel) and in Atlanta as the Peachtree.
GM purchased it from Ford’s Real Estate / Land group in 2008.
So kill the woman who has been driving record revenue targets, improve quality (seriously, look at the interior of a pre Mary and post Mary vehicle), record ATP prices, high stock prices and so on. Seems she has done a ton for GM. But because she is a woman you think it is all bad I am guessing?
Thank you for putting it out bluntly and clear.
Ok, so you’re saying that since she is a woman she has done everything perfect and cannot in anyway be critiqued. Sounds a little woke if you ask me. Man=bad lol
Please define “woke” for me in your own words. I am all for objective, documented criticism regardless of sex, color, ethnic background etc. But please look at the facts before saying that she is incompetent and should be fired. Executives at her level are not easy to replace. It is a process involving risk and unknown outcome for the Company.
Woke is pandering to fringes of society while the needs of the mainstream are ignored. Or in other words, compromising the rights and freedoms of the 99.9 percent so the .1 percent can impose their wills.
Not kill her, just retire her
So folks are misogynist when they hold women to the same standard as men?
Low tier journalism originated by The Detroit Free Press. Lazy click-bait crap.
During this interview, Mary basically said “We don’t know what the plan for is right now. Check back later”. So DFP takes that and twists it to their liking “OH MARY IS SAYING DEMOLISHING THE RECEN ISNT OUT OF THE QUESTION!!!!!!”
Stupid.
The quality of the Detroit print media is about the same as the National Enquirer
DEMOLISH Go out of USA and Brasil, Stay only in China …
I miss Packard more and more … All cars since 2000 are horrible ugly and with lot errors of design… so do not care… like Florida where has warm beaches, cruise ships and no snow
Demolishing the Ren Cen would be like New York tearing down the Freedom Tower or Chicago demolishing the Sears Tower.
The problem is that Dan Gilbert over built office space in Detroit now there’s a 25 percent vacancy rate
1. see none problem in demolishing Freedom tower, indeed in NY they should demolish many bldgs
2. do not see a problem demolishing willis tower as do not see a problem demolishing redentor in rio
some day will happen like coloseo in Rome is ruin and Kharnak Temple is ruin too, nothing is forever
the united states waste ship in philadelphia deserve since long to be demolished too
see none problem in demolishing pentagon too, what is for ?
It won’t be demolished. The workers would have to work from home until a new building is built/moved in to.
Mary doesn’t want that.
Maybe they can get the State to also buy the Ren Cen like they did the original GM Building on West Grand Blvd. That place was built like a fortress and felt like a museum inside. It was purposely meant to look and feel dominate just like the company was at one time. Internally we just called it “The Building”.
I’d be ironic if the old HQ’s building out lived the new version.
Unless the building is a super-expensive-to-maintain-White-Elephant, it seems like such a waste… Isn’t there anyone in America who can make use of a nice looking building?
Well she’s learned not to answer questions directly, that much is clear after the whole “EV FOR EVERYONE” pipe dream fell flat as a pancake.
Imagine how environmentally friendly it would be to DEMOLISH that beautiful building? True colors shining through. It was NEVER about the environment.
Mary seems bent on destroying stockholders value.
Talking about demolishing a symbol of the Detroit skyline… so sad.. It’s convenient to make these suggestions when you are not from Detroit! SMDH
When you are given up as much market share as lower case gm has the last number of years, you certainly didn’t need as large a headquarters.