General Motors is relocating its corporate HQ from the Renaissance Center, overlooking the Detroit River waterfront, to a new building in a development called Hudson’s Detroit. As part of that process, GM is now telling everybody else who set up shop in the RenCen (as it’s casually known) to call the movers – with one exception, from Automotive News:
The automaker is moving to cozier office space downtown in January. And…GM has notified all tenants — retail, office, food and beverage — that the towers are being emptied, save for the Marriott hotel in the 73-story central cylinder…. “Tenants will miss the amazing views of the Detroit River, but I don’t suspect anyone will miss the confusing lobby and maze of escalators and elevators that felt like an M.C. Escher painting,” [said] Peter McGrath, managing director of the Birmingham, Mich., office of Savills brokerage house.
Actually, I don’t know about that. I visited the RenCen many times and often stayed at the Marriott, and after initially being intimidated by the controversial but also unforgettable design, I warmed to it and looked forward to returning. McGrath’s point about confusion is well taken, however. I personally recall having a tough time remembering how to get to the Starbucks.
The mostly unloved RenCen
The massive complex, now made up of seven towers, was largely built in the 1970s and is considered a major work by the architect John Portman. GM moved in back in 1996, but originally the Ren Cen was developed and financed in part by Ford, one of those Motown ironies. The interior space is vast, complicated to navigate, and routinely characterized as being in the Brutalist style, given considerable use of unadorned concrete.
With its elevated walkways and overall gigantic-ness, it all looks like a set from a science-fiction movie and, to be honest, is an acquired taste. Taken as a whole, the place presents itself as a colossal steel-and-glass fortress from the outside and truly lacks an obvious human element. It’s less enjoyed than admired for a commitment to completely aggressive self-containment. My first stay there was in winter during the mid-2000s and I vividly recall sitting in a restaurant and watching ice float down the river at night. Not exactly a comforting experience, but it did define the structure.
GM doesn’t need the space
About that Automotive News description of GM’s new digs as “cozier.” I have never once thought of GM as being a cozy company and, in many ways that impression was shaped by the Ren Cen. Here was the most prominent set of skyscrapers in Detroit, landlorded by America’s biggest carmaker. The Ren Cen was unapologetic about its off-putting aspects, just as GM was unapologetic, at least pre-bankruptcy, for its imposing corporate identity.
Things change. GM doesn’t need the Ren Cen anymore, especially with the pandemic shaking up expectations about how much office space companies need to maintain. The various tenants will have to relocate, but then again, they probably relied largely on GM and its employees for their business. The future of the complex is not at all corporate. Automotive News reported that GM and Bedrock – the developer of Hudson’s Detroit – want to demolish two of the main towers. What’s left could be turned into residential space (the hotel will remain in place). If that happens, it would definitely be a weird place to live. But the views would be stunning…