GlooM Headquarters by Camera Jesus
Yesterday Bedrock and General Motors announced a conceptual plan to redevelop the Renaissance Center (RenCen) and 27 acres along the Detroit riverfront. They say that the plan “preserves the essence of Detroit’s skyline, ‘right sizes’ the RenCen’s footprint, and connects the site to the heart of downtown. The surrounding entertainment district would become a vibrant waterfront destination, drawing international visitors and featuring restaurants, hospitality, residential and market space—complementing Detroit’s award-winning Riverwalk, which draws more than 3.5 million annual visitors to the city.”
Check out the renderings & Detroit News excerpt below for an idea of what’s in store & please share your thoughts. Personally, I’m glad that they’re preserving some of this truly iconic structure but honestly worried that it could end up being a terrifying albatross in the event of an economic downturn. Much more about the Renaissance Center on Michigan in Pictures.
It’s been a minute since I’ve featured a photo by the amazing Joe Gall aka Camera Jesus. He shared this back in January of 2023. Follow him on Facebook & Instagram for the latest and for sure head over to CameraJesus.com to view & purchase his photos including this beauty of a supermoon rising over the Ren Cen!!
Renaissance Center Conceptual Renderings by Bedrock
The Detroit News shares (in part):
The Renaissance Center would shrink to three towers with residential, office and hotel tenancy to create space for a six-acre riverfront park in a more than $1.6 billion redevelopment plan dependent on $250 million in state support that would make billionaire mortgage mogul Dan Gilbert’s real estate firm shared owner of the complex with current owner General Motors … Gilbert is contributing $1 billion in equity and debt, and GM is providing $250 million after having invested $1.5 billion into the building during its ownership. A new entity owning the site will reflect each party’s contribution toward the redevelopment, said Dave Massaron, GM’s vice president of infrastructure and corporate citizenship.
Michigan in Pictures 
They would be spending a ton of money for the demolition and I, like you, would fear what would happen in an economic downturn. If everything was halted, would it just be a pile of rubble or cleaned up, but bare and an eyesore? They already have a large area at Campus Martius to congregate and while these plans would be along the Detroit River, they have the whole walkway to walk along the River. I read or heard a few months ago, that people don’t like the Ren Cen as they feel like they are hermetically sealed in a building that has windows that don’t open.
I was going to Downtown Detroit just as the Ren Cen opened and I worked there briefly when Young & Rubicam was forced to move there after we lost Chrysler and got Lincoln Mercury as a client. It was such a brand-spanking new type of building next to the older structures that had been around for years, like the Penobscot Building which I understand is literally falling apart inside. I think it is unique and should stay as is, but then again, I didn’t like that J.L. Hudson’s was imploded. I spent many a lunch hour walking around there and went to see it the Monday after the implosion (having seen the implosion on the local news) and dust still filled the air and it was a massive pile of dusty debris.
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