The Detroit Free Press reports that Detroit’s Renaissance Center has entered an awkward phase: It is not old enough to be historic, yet it no longer works well enough to remain unchanged.
The city of Detroit Assessor’s Office has declared the nearly 50-year-old riverfront complex “functionally obsolete,” a designation that helps General Motors and Bedrock pursue public incentives for a proposed $2.2 billion redevelopment. The finding means the Renaissance Center no longer meets the practical and economic demands of a modern mixed-use development.
The assessor cited four problems: excess capacity, outdated floor plans, poor integration with surrounding streets and a reduced ability to compete in today’s real estate market. The complex contains more than 4 million square feet, much of it vacant. Its inward-facing design also limits pedestrian connections to downtown and the riverfront.
GM and Bedrock want to demolish Towers 300 and 400, the two 39-story office buildings closest to the Detroit River. The plan would replace portions of the existing complex with new public spaces, housing, retail and improved riverfront access…