Bedrock and General Motors unveil a $1.6 billion plan to redevelop the Renaissance Center, demolishing two riverfront towers and transforming the remaining towers into a mixed use of housing, hotel rooms, and modernized office space.

The Community Benefits process continues with weekly meetings through late October, including a September 15 session on tax breaks and incentives and a vote on two neighborhood representatives for the Neighborhood Advisory Committee.

If only Tower 100 is converted, about 380 new apartments could be created; converting all four towers could take up to a decade to lease and raises questions about attracting services to a largely empty complex.

Public reaction is mixed: some residents back revitalization, while others oppose the loss of enclosed podium space and question the need for more riverfront outdoor areas.

The plan calls for a major new riverfront public park and attractions, with costs beyond the pledged $1.6 billion.

Developers argue that the alternatives—doing nothing, refilling all four towers with tenants, or converting only two riverfront towers to housing—are impractical or too costly given vacancy, market demand, and high conversion costs.

Bedrock executives emphasize this plan as the only viable path to position the RenCen for the next century, advocating a mixed-use development with a park front.

Redevelopment could begin next summer, with further details to be discussed with the Detroit City Council.

Specifically, doing nothing would leave long-term vacancies; refilling with office tenants is unlikely due to regional vacancies; converting two riverfront towers to housing would cost about $800 million and could take more than ten years to lease, hindering other anchors like grocery or retail.