The fate of Detroit’s Renaissance Center hangs in the balance as GM prepares to move its headquarters to Hudson’s Detroit by January 2026. The plan right now is for the cluster of skyscrapers, which includes Michigan’s tallest building, to have two of its towers demolished and the other three thoroughly renovated. Now, GM is offering to donate any future profits from the redevelopment to educational organizations in Detroit.
This philanthropic offer is at least partially being used as a bargaining chip as GM tries to persuade state lawmakers in Lansing to give a $250 million subsidy to the project, which is being conducted with real estate firm Bedrock. This news comes just days after GM threatened to bear the expense of demolishing the whole Renaissance Center if it doesn’t get the subsidy.
“Our partnership with Bedrock resulted in a visionary plan that would benefit the city and the state and position the building and the riverfront well into the future,” GM spokeswoman Tara Stewart Kuhnen told The Detroit News. “To underscore our commitment, GM will donate any potential return on its investment to local education-focused nonprofits in Detroit.”
Republican House Speaker-elect Matt Hall has been one of the more vocal critics against giving GM the taxpayer-funded subsidy and remains hesitant due to other priorities for state spending as Michigan faces an estimated $3.9 billion deficit next year. “The Democrats blew through a $9 billion surplus, and the money isn’t as available as it used to be,” Hall said Thursday. “What we’re saying is, ‘Let’s fund the roads.’ We need to fund the roads. We need to fund local and county roads. And, then, if there’s money left, then we can talk about what to do with it.”
Current Democrat House Speaker Joe Tate has been non-committal on the subsidy and wants to examine the “public benefit” of helping to fund the renovation. “We’ve been having conversations and looking at the proposal,” Tate said of GM’s pitch for state aid. “Being a Detroiter, the RenCen’s been a landmark. It’s been up since I’ve been alive. And I think that’s something we still have to look at and examine to see if there is a path.”
If the current plan goes through, the 100 tower will be converted into residential space with 300-400 units. The 200 tower will undergo a thorough overhaul, but it will remain a commercial office space. Finally, the tallest tower, the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, will remain a hotel but reduced to about 850 rooms in the lower levels. The upper levels will be converted to high-end residential space.
Comments
Or they could just give the full 250 to education. GM, cough up the gold. Yoade your bed, you get to clean it up, not your mom.
The money is only predicated on none of the towers being demolished. To take down two- especially the ones closest to the river- is like buying a Silverado 1500 without a bed. Problem with “leaders” these days is they do not think outside of the box. I am sure there are some city, state, and county operations that could be moved into those towers.
Layoff people recently, and now donations? Wow.
Hopefully they won’t give GM a dime.
GM is reducing factories, jobs and facilities and they want paid for it.
Make me sick. Mary Barra is a disgrace.