History of Renaissance Center

The Renaissance Center built between 1973 and 1977 and was part of a larger Urban Renewal program to replace what was then still a largely abandoned industrialized Detroit Riverfront, it was envisioned as a "city-within-a-city," and was meant to anchor a wider redevelopment of the then declining city of Detroit. It was designed by architect John C. Portman which had a large influence on his hometown of Atlanta GA. The basis for the Renaissance Center was the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta also built by Portman, Peachtree was built just before the Renaissance Center and serves as a exact build of the Central tower of the renaissance center in Detroit. Furthermore the sky bridges connecting the Renaissance Center to the locations such as the Millender Center are identical to the sky bridges connecting the Peachtree Center Complex in Atlanta. While the exteriors of each of the towers are the same between the Peachtree and the Renaissance Center they both have wildly different interiors from each other. Upon Completion the Renaissance Center was the tallest building in Michigan and the tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere until 2017. The top three floors of the hotel hosted an upscale restaurant, The Summit, that rotated to allow a 360 degree view of Detroit that later closed in the early 2000s. In 1981 the final two towers being Towers 500 and 600 were finished, this would complete the 7 tower layout of the Renaissance Center, with One large center tower followed by 4 towers 100-400 surrounding the Center Tower. Towers 500 and 600 were built off to the side. While the Renaissance Center was to meant to revive the downtown space of Detroit, it largely killed it due to tenants moving into the Renaissance Center’s new complex, leaving many older skyscrapers largely vacant and abandoned shortly after, one by one, a problem that wouldn’t be fixed largely until the 2010s. For the tower’s first 19 years, Ford Motor Co. occupied one of the office towers. But owned all 4 of the main towers excluding the Center one owned by Marriott. In 1996, Ford sold the building to GM with plans for GM to make the Renaissance Center their new World Headquarters moving from the historic Cadillac Place in New Center. Between 1996 and 2004 the Renaissance Center was renovated by GM, this renovation would add the last major part of the Renaissance Center being the Wintergarden retail atrium completed in late 2001. This addition opened up the fortress like building to the public, and would be expanded on with the Detroit Riverwalk funded largely by GM and beginning at the Renaissance Center when it opened in 2007. Additional features for the public in the Wintergarden saw 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of retail space and 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) of contiguous main floor exhibit space which was used by the media during Super Bowl XL of 2006. Along with this a 20,000 sf space on Level 2 of Tower 300 for executive meetings and conferences was built. However this renovation was not all good as it killed one of the staples of the tower being the Summit restaurant on the top floors of the Central Tower, a staple of the Renaissance Center since opening, when Summit was replaced in 2004 by another restaurant called Coach Insignia. While the Coach Insignia was a upscale and well liked restaurant it was largely not seen as better then The Summit due to the choice to remove the 360 degree rotating view. For over 20 years the Renaissance Center saw new additions in the image of cars, GM would display its new cars in the first floor of the Renaissance Center, eventuality leading to the creation of GM World a exhibit that showcased the history of GM cars from prototypes to fan favorites. However though the car scene was nice the closing of Coach Insignia was not, visitors of the Renaissance Center would no longer be able to see or dine on the upper floors of the Renaissance Center without buying a room in the hotel. Furthermore the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic cut foot traffic in the Renaissance Center due to stay at home orders. This caused many workers that once worked in the towers to go remote, killing business and the city within a city atmosphere from the shops in the Renaissance Center to the Food Court once staples of the Center, are largely closed up, a far cry from what was once the grand staple of Detroit, even in Detroit’s hardest time. By 2022 the Renaissance Center contributed to 53 percent of downtown Detroit’s overall office vacancy. Between 2018 and 2023 GM had began downsizing its operations by 50% inside the Renaissance Center. In April 2024 GM announced it would leave the Renaissance Center for Bedrock Detroit's new Hudson Building located in the heart of Downtown Detroit. When asked by the press in May of 2024 about Demolition of the Renaissance Center it was not ruled out by GM CEO Mary Barra. she is quoted with saying “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 (finding a new use for the building is) where we’re focused,” Barra said. By November a plan had been submitted that saw very public opposition, the demolition of towers 300 and 400. These would be the towers facing the river a rendering showcased a more open backside of the building with the demolition of the two towers and allowing a expansion to the building with the riverwalk. Many have said it would be similar to Navy Pier in Chicago. On March 25, 2025, mayor of Detroit Mike Duggan explained in large detail why the towers couldn’t be saved in the sense the public thought it could. Some major points included the concrete layers that would have to be demolished to make sense of apartments in the building, and utilities that would have to be put in for each unit making it impractical. Another public backlash came when it was announced the taxpayers would have to contribute to the already very unpopular revision of Michigan’s largest building. It was stated Bedrock has committed $1 billion toward the $1.6 billion vision, with GM expected to contribute $250 million. The remaining $250 million would come from public funding (Taxpayers). Bedrock said the plan was contingent on that public money being made available. On January 12th, 2026 GM officially moved into the Hudson’s building completing a 2 years plan in the making. This move saw the closing of the Renaissance Center to the public, on visit January 14th a security guard at the Renaissance Center noted GM World had been removed from the Renaissance Center the same day the move happened. Signs have been posted at entrances of the building stating the building is not open to the public and is only to be used by Hotel guests and Employees of the remaining tenants inside the Renaissance Center.