DETROIT | Ren Cen | potential redevelopment

[iheartthed]

GM CEO doesn't rule out demolition of the Renaissance Center, as company prepares move to Hudson's Tower: https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...r/73820279007/




Source: wikipedia

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

GM CEO doesn't rule out demolition of the Renaissance Center, as company prepares move to Hudson's Tower: https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...r/73820279007/

Would that be one of the largest demolitions ever?

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Would that be one of the largest demolitions ever?

I have no idea, but I doubt the entire complex gets demolished. I would imagine that the hotel tower is safe because Detroit has been chronically short on hotel rooms in recent years.

[Southwest City Boy]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

GM CEO doesn't rule out demolition of the Renaissance Center, as company prepares move to Hudson's Tower: https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...r/73820279007/

RenCen is to Detroit what the Empire State Building is to NYC and Willis (Sears) Tower is to Chicago. Any talk of even partial demolition is ridiculous.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by Southwest City Boy

RenCen is to Detroit what the Empire State Building is to NYC and Willis (Sears) Tower is to Chicago. Any talk of even partial demolition is ridiculous.

True, but it's still just a big bunch of office space and if it isn't being used, there's always the chance it gets demo'd. If it makes business sense then it'll happen.

That said, I don't think it would happen anytime soon. There will definitely be a decent period of time while they try to fill that office space with new tenants.

[iheartthed]

I put the odds of at least a partial demolition in the next 5 - 7 years at greater than 40%. It wouldn't be the first iconic building in Detroit to meet the wrecking ball. I think demolition is even more likely than it would have otherwise been because GM owns it and doesn't want a huge abandoned building lingering around for years to give it bad press.

I think the most likely option is that GM unloads it onto the state government, although not sure what the state would even do with it... But demolition has a high probability.

[Steely Dan]

^ I still can't see such an iconic building being demo'ed, but I guess we'll see what happens.


Outside the box idea that's probably really impractical for a variety of reasons: if the 2.2M SF of office space in the 4 outrigger towers is deemed to be just too much to fill, and residential conversion won't work for whatever reason, instead of completely tearing down some of them, maybe they could selectively lop-off some upper floors on several of them to give the 4 outrigger office towers of the Ren Cen a staggered, stair-step style of massing around the central cylinder hotel tower.


But resi-conversion still seems best. Spectacular river views!

[The North One]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

True, but it's still just a big bunch of office space and if it isn't being used, there's always the chance it gets demo'd. If it makes business sense then it'll happen.

That said, I don't think it would happen anytime soon. There will definitely be a decent period of time while they try to fill that office space with new tenants.

It makes zero sense. Would cost hundreds of millions of dollars for no financial gain. Nobody is going to pay for that. Absolutely no reason to demo good office space.

News is posting clickbait bullshit. You'll see the sun explode in your lifetime before a Ren Cen demolition. Don't get why this fantasy is constantly entertained. People are really bored with their lives.

Also this is what Mary Barra actually said:

"Yeah, we're first looking at what can be done and what would be the appropriate use for the business. We've got a year to do that so that's where we're focused."

She said absolutely nothing about demolition of anything...

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by The North One

It makes zero sense. Would cost hundreds of millions of dollars for no financial gain. Nobody is going to pay for that. Absolutely no reason to demo good office space.

News is posting clickbait bullshit. You'll see the sun explode in your lifetime before a Ren Cen demolition. Don't get why this fantasy is constantly entertained. People are really bored with their lives.

Also this is what Mary Barra actually said:



She said absolutely nothing about demolition of anything...

You omitted the question she was responding to:

Moderator Rhonda Walker, a WDIV-TV anchor, asked Barra, "Are any of the thought processes demolishing the building?"

Barra said, "We're first looking at what can be done and what would be the appropriate use for the business. We've got a year to do that so that's where we're focused."

[The North One]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

You omitted the question she was responding to:

And her response was clearly ignoring a dumb loaded question. Reiterating that they're focused on making a use for the building. She went on before that stating they're committed to redevelopment.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by The North One

And her response was clearly ignoring a dumb loaded question. Reiterating that they're focused on making a use for the building. She went on before that stating they're committed to redevelopment.

No, she evaded the question, which means that demolition is under consideration. If it was not under consideration then she would've just said that.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

No, she evaded the question, which means that demolition is under consideration. If it was not under consideration then she would've just said that.

GM is gonna seek a developer to partner with, whether that's for office, hotel, residential or something else. She'd be very foolish to publicly commit that they won't tear it down.

But they will take their cues from the development partner, and I have confidence that the partner will see value in preserving all or most of the RenCen complex. Even if they strip it down to the steel frame and reclad/rework the massing of the building.

It's not gonna become a parking lot.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by The North One

It makes zero sense. Would cost hundreds of millions of dollars for no financial gain. Nobody is going to pay for that. Absolutely no reason to demo good office space.

News is posting clickbait bullshit. You'll see the sun explode in your lifetime before a Ren Cen demolition. Don't get why this fantasy is constantly entertained. People are really bored with their lives.

Also this is what Mary Barra actually said:



She said absolutely nothing about demolition of anything...

There's no financial gain for owning an empty building. It could be the most perfect office space, who knows. But if it's empty and no one's paying rent to GM... then it's kinda obvious what could happen.

As a business, "preserving an iconic building" is only as important as it is for marketing purposes. And if no one's buying, then that "iconic status" isn't worth a whole lot.

But again, demolition is a last resort and GM will no doubt crunch the numbers and consider all other possible options in the mean time.

[pianowizard]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Moderator Rhonda Walker, a WDIV-TV anchor, asked Barra, "Are any of the thought processes demolishing the building?"

Barra said, "We're first looking at what can be done and what would be the appropriate use for the business. We've got a year to do that so that's where we're focused."

Barra seems to be saying "We'll spend the next year trying to figure out how best to use the building. If we can't put it to good use, we will demolish it."

[uaarkson]

The Ren Cen is an obsolete piece of shit that literally makes downtown worse. Would love to see it go and then be replaced by something newer and better. Now that would actually be good for the city and its image. Throw off the shackles of this evil corporation that threw Detroit to the wind.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by pianowizard

Barra seems to be saying "We'll spend the next year trying to figure out how best to use the building. If we can't put it to good use, we will demolish it."

Yes, that is what I read into it as well.

Originally Posted by ardecila

But they will take their cues from the development partner, and I have confidence that the partner will see value in preserving all or most of the RenCen complex. Even if they strip it down to the steel frame and reclad/rework the massing of the building.

The biggest issue working against the Ren Cen is its isolated location. I think the best way to save it is actually to get rid of those massive parking structures to the east and develop residential towers there.

This should be replaced with mixed used residential: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1MRfZRWWZKTRWif87

And all of this: https://maps.app.goo.gl/i9xav3BbBU99tpno9

And all of this: https://maps.app.goo.gl/AVPbYL4oU39sxyz19

If that's not part of the plan then it's hard to see the complex survive in current form, IMO. The original plans for the complex called for all of those areas to be filled with residential and retail, but that part never materialized.

[Altoic]

I would love to see the waterfront revitalized near the ren center, maybe even by tearing down a majority of the parking garages and surface lots for private development and a linear waterfront park. They have a small sliver available for the riverwalk but they should really plan on making the rest of the waterfront lot park space.

It would be cool to see the ren center recladded and converted to residential but I'm not sure how serious they are.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

There's no financial gain for owning an empty building. It could be the most perfect office space, who knows. But if it's empty and no one's paying rent to GM... then it's kinda obvious what could happen.

As a business, "preserving an iconic building" is only as important as it is for marketing purposes. And if no one's buying, then that "iconic status" isn't worth a whole lot.

But again, demolition is a last resort and GM will no doubt crunch the numbers and consider all other possible options in the mean time.

The complex has only had significant vacancies for a few years, which isn't even atypical for office space. Even if we pretend for a second that it goes totally vacant, nobody is going to pay those demolition costs. It would just sit there for decades.

Regardless, she clearly stated they're working on a plan for utilizing the space several times. We have no reason to believe anything else is going on or being considered.

[DetroitSky]

I think at the very least we can guarantee the Marriott isn’t going anywhere. Detroit already lacks hotel rooms and it’d make absolutely no sense to remove 1,300 rooms. I can see it getting a massive renovation, but not demolition.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the remaining tenants were all moved into one of the Jefferson facing towers, while the other one gets turned into another hotel (or two) and the two towers facing the river become residential. It would be nice if the podium was removed altogether and some pedestrian streets added in. I really don’t see the RenCen being demolished in its entirety, however.

[Southwest City Boy]

It would be a shame to lose any of the RenCen towers now that Hudson's Detroit truly gives the skyline a modern look. The more I think about it, I believe at least two of the RenCen office towers should be converted to apartment/condo units. We have a very nice '60s glass office tower that was converted and it is really something to behold. It's The National 1401 Elm Street, Dallas.