GM's RenCen headquarters in Detroit could face demolition

Most of the buildings making up Detroit’s Renaissance Center and GM’s global headquarters could be demolished, according to recent reports. The Detroit Free Press reported last week that of the seven towers, all but one or two of them could be subject to demolition, with those couple left standing as a nod to preserve Detroit’s skyline.

General Motors is officially leaving the five buildings it owns in 2025 and moving to the new Hudson’s Detroit complex. In the meantime, discussions are being held by GM, the real estate firm Bedrock (Dan Gilbert’s company), architectural firms and construction companies. Speaking to the Freep under anonymity, folks familiar with those discussions are suggesting that demolition could be the most likely outcome. Those sources say that GM has asked the state to kick in “hundreds of millions” to “help pay for a partial demolition, build a new structure and renovate any remaining tower or towers at the site.”

Neither GM nor Bedrock commented on the speculation to the Freep, but the Detroit Mayor’s office released a statement.

“The mayor has made it clear from the beginning that all options for the Renaissance Center site will be actively explored,” Mayor Mike Duggan’s spokesman John Roach told the Freep. “We are not going to have a situation as we had with the Hudson’s building or Michigan Central where critical sites sat empty for 40 years because this community’s leaders would not make realistic decisions. All options are being explored and no decision has been made.”

If most of the Renaissance Center’s towers are demolished, it’s likely that we’ll see new construction around the area designed to draw people from the city in, rather than keep them away. The acres of parking near the RenCen could be redeveloped to improve matters even further and link the city up with the now enticing Riverfront.

GM says it’s spent over $1 billion across the years on improvements to the RenCen that it’s lived in since 1996. The decision on what to ultimately do with the multi-building complex isn’t expected to land until next year, so for now, the future of GM’s long-held global headquarters remains in the balance.