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City council rejects push to start formal historic study of Renaissance Center
Summary
After hours of public comment and council debate, an effort to begin a formal historic‑designation study of the Renaissance Center failed on the council floor. Supporters urged preservation; opponents cited private ownership and redevelopment needs.
Detroit City Council on Tuesday declined to begin the formal historic‑designation/study process for the Renaissance Center after an extended discussion and public comment urging preservation.
Supporters of a study, and residents who called in during public comment, said the complex is an important, if complicated, part of Detroit’s recent history and urged the council to slow any redevelopment plans so preservation options could be evaluated. “It does qualify,” Janice Chapman, director of the Historic Designation Advisory Board, told council, citing the locally applicable criteria for historic review.
Opponents — including several council members who had reviewed the matter in committee — said the property is privately owned and that additional review could delay redevelopment that backers say may be needed to revive underused towers and reopen the riverfront to broader public use. Council member Fred Durhall pointed to the complex’s history and design but said redevelopment may produce more public benefit than immediate listing. Director Rob Todd said there are tools besides historic designation to shape outcomes and that any plan would need private‑sector cooperation and likely state involvement.
Council member Angela Whitfield Callaway moved to start the study process; the motion failed on the council floor after multiple objections and a vote. The transcript record shows opponents raised concerns about placing an interim barrier on a privately owned redevelopment and the need for a single, coordinated message to state partners if public funding or approvals will be sought.
The debate also included residents who said the Renaissance Center should be preserved or adaptively reused; others urged quicker redevelopment to finance riverfront and public‑access improvements. The council did not direct a follow‑up study during the session.
What’s next: Because the building is privately owned, any redevelopment, demolition or rehabilitation will involve the owners, potential developers and, where appropriate, the city’s planning and historic review processes. The council did request planning staff to report on other cities’ approaches to similar towers and the commission’s process for designation.
— Reported from the Detroit City Council meeting
