Detroit council committee hears GM/Bedrock plan to reconfigure Renaissance Center; rejects immediate historic designation

General Motors and developer Bedrock presented a redevelopment plan for the Detroit Renaissance Center during the Planning & Economic Development Standing Committee meeting, proposing to remove two towers, open the podium to the riverfront, build riverfront public space and an adjacent entertainment district, and preserve the skyline’s visual character. The committee sent related items to formal session, including a motion that would recommend denying a local historic-designation study and a request to draft a resolution to lift privilege on the law department’s report.

The proposal matters because the Renaissance Center sits at Detroit’s riverfront and is a major downtown landmark and employer. Proponents said comprehensive redevelopment — not preservation that restricts changes — is the only viable path to make the structure economically sustainable and reconnect the site to the rest of the city. Opponents and preservation groups urged the city to study designation and other protections before approving demolition or removal of major portions.

GM and Bedrock officials said the complex, built in the 1970s and later modified by GM, must change to survive. Jennifer Stallings, counsel for General Motors, told the committee:“This building is just not able to be viable economically in this day and age.” Jared Fleisher of Bedrock called his firm a preservationist by history and intent and said the proposal aims to “turn exclusion into inclusion,” preserving the skyline’s essence while opening the site to public use and mixed-income housing. Dave Mastroian, GM vice president of infrastructure, said the companies expect extensive community engagement and that any redevelopment would return multiple times to the council for approvals and potential incentives.

Speakers described the plan’s main elements: removal of two of the five towers that currently form the Renaissance Center’s skyline, conversion of the center tower to a hotel with an observation deck, a mixed-income housing tower, 11 acres of riverfront public space, and development of 21 acres of adjacent surface lots into a family-friendly entertainment district. Fleisher and other presenters said the plan would preserve the recognizable skyline from most viewpoints and provide direct pedestrian access from downtown to the riverfront.

Public commentators included preservation advocates and residents. Chris Gongora of Preservation Detroit said he supported “preservation and adaptive reuse of the entire Detroit Renaissance Center,” while others, including residents who called in, urged that demolition plans be halted until the city thoroughly studies alternatives. Vico Williams told the committee: “Please reject this and stop this now,” urging caution about demolition near the Detroit River because of potential health or environmental effects.

Committee members discussed alternatives raised during public comment, including “mothballing” unused towers. Bedrock and GM representatives said mothballing is not viable: the towers’ size, mechanical systems and the podium’s structure would require extensive, costly work even to maintain them in place, and leaving large vacant towers would perpetuate vacancy and blight. Fleisher and GM representatives estimated the transformational redevelopment would be roughly $1.6 billion and said they were not seeking general-fund support; they asked for DDA, state brownfield and other public partnership support.

The committee also discussed procedural steps. The committee voted to send the 10:05 a.m. public-hearing item to formal session with a recommendation to approve; it moved other Renaissance-related items together. The panel voted to send the council resolution requesting that the Historic Designation Advisory Board study the site (line item 7.6) to formal session with a recommendation to deny that designation inquiry, and separately directed staff to draft a council resolution to consider removing privilege from the law department’s report (line item 7.7) so the report could be considered publicly. Committee members also asked the City Planning Commission and staff to meet with GM/Bedrock teams to review zoning, PD (planned-development) requirements and other technical questions before formal votes.

Next steps include multiple follow-ups: formal session consideration of the items the committee moved, further CPC review and public hearings on any zoning or PD amendments, a brownfield/financial program discussion with the Downtown Development Authority and state partners, and additional community engagement as required by city processes. GM and Bedrock said they expect to return to the council multiple times for PD approvals, public benefit negotiations and other required reviews.

Quotes used in this article are verbatim from meeting speakers recorded in the meeting transcript; attributions are limited to the persons listed in the committee record.