DETROIT | Ren Cen | potential redevelopment

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by The North One

What are you talking about? The entrance to the Ren Cen from the closest neighbor is a walk across Jefferson. That is not 500 feet. Nothing proposed in their plan moves the complex closer to downtown or connects it better so this is a moot point.

You can measure the distance on Google Maps. It is 500 feet. Not sure what your definition of integrated is, but I assure you most would not describe the Ren Cen that way.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

You can measure the distance on Google Maps. It is 500 feet. Not sure what your definition of integrated is, but I assure you most would not describe the Ren Cen that way.

Just did, it's 253 ft to the next closest building, door to door. Not sure why you're trying to convince anybody Jefferson is 500 feet wide?? A typical Manhattan block is over 900 feet long on its wider side so there's no reason why people can't walk.

Nobody ever said the Ren Cen was integrated... But acting like it sits on Alcatraz or something is strange.

[subterranean]

I think they meant their next closest neighbor on the same side of the road.

[NYguy]

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/renaissance-center-600-tower-lands-92m-high-bid-auction

RenCen tower commands $9.2M high bid at online auction





By Kirk Pinho
March 19, 2025

A largely vacant Renaissance Center tower in downtown Detroit has commanded a high bid of $9.2 million during a three-day online auction that ended Wednesday afternoon.

The reserve price — which is the lowest amount the owner would accept for the 334,000-square-foot building — was met in the auction; although the precise amount was not known.

...Any finalized sale would take some time to close. The 21-story 600 Tower is largely vacant, sitting at about 11% occupancy, according to the online listing through Ten-X.com. Farmington Hills-based Friedman Real Estate is handling the auction.

The 600 Tower is one of the two shorter RenCen buildings and is not owned by General Motors Co., which is working on a separate redevelopment plan for the central five towers the automaker owns.

[ArchGuy1]

Is there anyone here that can post this article as it is hidden behind a paywall.
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estat...ervation-deck-could-offer-revenue-stream

[NYguy]

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2025/11/gms...ming-ghost-town-ahead-of-revitalization/

GM's Renaissance Center Becoming Ghost Town Ahead Of Revitalization


By George Barta
November 20, 2025

Detroit's iconic Renaissance Center, once a bustling symbol of urban revival, now faces a stark reality as General Motors prepares to depart. Crain's Detroit Business reports that the complex is rapidly emptying, with workers and long-term tenants departing ahead of a massive planned redevelopment that will reshape the city's riverfront.

The grand plan for the site, a joint $1.6 billion vision from GM and Bedrock, justifies the emptying of the Renaissance Center. The redevelopment hinges on a radical transformation, including the demolition of the two 39-story office towers closest to the riverfront, Towers 300 and 400. The project aims to replace the often-criticized, maze-like podium with new public plazas and pedestrian promenades that better connect Jefferson Avenue to the Detroit Riverwalk. Financing is now in motion, with the Downtown Development Authority approving a $75 million commitment for public infrastructure and demolition. However, the project still depends on a crucial extension of the state's Transformational Brownfield Program.

For Bedrock, this project marks a strategic shift. "The next chapter is the riverfront axis," said Bedrock's incoming CEO Jared Fleisher. "Over the next 10 to 15 years, if we can collectively come together and solve for the gateway of the Renaissance Center, we will march and redevelop the entirety of the riverfront." As the complex empties today, the focus is on creating a future that will make the destination more accessible and dynamic for the city.

[RockMont]

This is a good facility. What a TERRIBLE waste it would be to demolish this!

[patriotizzy]

Originally Posted by RockMont

This is a good facility. What a TERRIBLE waste it would be to demolish this!

Nah. What is a TERRIBLE waste is the maintenance costs for such an eye-sore.

I'd rather they tear down the 4 smaller towers and just leave the circular tall one. That would be the best outcome imo.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by RockMont

This is a good facility. What a TERRIBLE waste it would be to demolish this!

The site has a negative value. It clearly isn't a "good facility" and hasn't really worked since it opened.

[DCReid]

Originally Posted by Crawford

The site has a negative value. It clearly isn't a "good facility" and hasn't really worked since it opened.

This site has great value, especially for leisure and entertainment, and maybe even residential. It no longer works (and maybe never did) in its configuration of superblock development that separated itself from the main downtown. It has too much office space and the indoor retail portion is no longer attractive (as with most cities). It makes sense to knock down at least 2 of the midrise office towers and maybe convert one of the others to residential. It would probably make sense to knock down one or both of two small towers, and convert one to residential. They should open up the lakefront part as a park or a people gathering facility and maybe add things like bike and walking nature trails to the lakefront.

[NYguy]

• Video Link

[iheartthed]

GM officially left the Renaissance Center in January: https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/gm-moves-out-renaissance-center-businesses-inside-prepare-future

There are reports on social media that the complex is now mostly closed to the public, but the Marriott hotel is still in operation.

[pianowizard]

The restaurant on floors 71 and 72, Highlands Detroit, will close for good in May 2027:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article...n-sets-long-closing-timeline/ar-AA1WYI0W

[airforceguy]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in an election year...
Hall ties RenCen rehab subsidies to property tax cut, state budget deal

Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall wants a "big deal" on the state budget that includes a broad property tax cut, new spending on university buildings and tax incentives sought by billionaire Dan Gilbert to revitalize Detroit's Renaissance Center.

The Republican leader signaled Thursday a desire to bundle multiple big-ticket tax and spending issues into one bipartisan agreement with the Democratic-controlled state Senate and outgoing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

"Let's make a big deal. And everyone can walk away with a win," Hall said at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

The proposal laid out by Hall would incorporate at least some elements of the roughly $5 billion property tax relief proposal passed by his House Republican caucus, capital outlay dollars that largely benefit university building improvement projects and an expansion of the state's Transformational Brownfield Credit that would benefit the rehabilitation of the nearly vacant Renaissance Center skyscrapers on Detroit's riverfront. Gilbert's real estate development firm, Bedrock, has been lobbying lawmakers to raise a cap on the incentive programs for brownfield, or obsolete, properties to wring out $175 million in tax subsidies on a $1.6 billion investment to tear down two of the RenCen's office towers and create a new public space along the riverfront.

Bedrock CEO Jared Fleisher said increasing the current annual cap on tax incentives for brownfield projects available to developers has become "leverage" in state budget negotiations, and that any tax cut would reduce revenue to the state's coffers.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/p...ate-budget-property-tax-cut/90296107007/