- GM needs less office space in Detroit, so it’s moving out of the Renaissance Center.
- However, it will stay in the city, and is expected to announce a move to a new complex called Hudson’s Detroit.
- GM is said to be working with Hudson’s Detroit developer on plans for the future of the Renaissance Center.
As the tallest building in Detroit, the Renaissance Center casts an imposing shadow over the city, and has acted as General Motors’ headquarters since 1996. That’s all set to change, though, as the automaker is expected to announce a move to a new building today.
Despite leaving the familiar Renaissance Center, the automaker will remain in Detroit. According to a report from Crain’s Detroit Business that cites “two people briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity”, GM is expected to move to a new $1.4 billion building, officially named Hudson’s Detroit. Once finished, the tower will become the city’s second-tallest.
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The 1.5-million-square-foot building is being developed by billionaire Dan Gilbert, who is the chairman of mortgage lender Rocket Cos. Inc. and has invested heavily in the city. Bloomberg reports that GM CEO Mary Barra will announce the move alongside him at 4:30 p.m. today.
Hudson’s Detroit will be located on the site of the former Hudson’s Department Store, which was demolished in 1998. The project will have 400,000 square feet of office space, and GM is expected to take up as much as half of that. In addition, the building will be occupied by a hotel, residential spaces, restaurants, and retail.
In that, it is reminiscent of the Renaissance Center, which contains a hotel, retail spaces, and restaurants. It was designed in the 1970s as a city within a city, and was first dreamed up by Henry Ford II, who hoped to launch a renaissance in the city to heal from the scars left by the 1967 rebellion, which was prompted by police brutality.
However, the 2.2 million square-foot complex of skyscrapers seems to have become too large for GM. Crain’s reports that between 2018 and 2023, the number of employees it had working in Detroit shrunk from 5,932 to just 2,798. In that time, the company moved several large teams out of the Renaissance Center and into other locations, such as its Warren Tech Center.
However, this may not spell the end of the Renaissance Center. General Motors is said to be in talks with Dan Gilbert about redeveloping the riverside complex of buildings, though it is not yet clear what that will look like.
