Key committee moves $2.2B RenCen plan to full Detroit council
Bedrock and General Motors' $2.2 billion plan to redevelop the Renaissance Center has passed a key committee of Detroit City Council and remains on pace for a potential approval vote before Thanksgiving.
Bedrock and General Motors' $2.2 billion plan to redevelop the Renaissance Center has passed a key committee of Detroit City Council and remains on pace for a potential approval vote before Thanksgiving.
Members of the council's Planning and Economic Development Committee came to a split decision on Thursday, Nov. 12, to move forward without a recommendation on the project's package of proposed tax breaks, incentives and community benefits to the full council for consideration, possibly as soon as Tuesday, Nov. 17.
The decision followed an unusually long meeting regarding the package that began at 10 a.m. and didn't conclude until shortly before 5:30 p.m., although with a few breaks for lunch and discussing other council business.
The meeting included multiple rounds of public comments regarding the project. The meeting room at City Hall was initially too small to accommodate every member of the public who wished to attend in person. (The public could also participate online via ZOOM.)
Council members Latisha Johnson and Coleman Young II ultimately decided in favor of moving the RenCen plan to the full council, with Gabriela Santiago-Romero opposed.
Johnson said that even though she still has some questions about the project's unique nonprofit ownership model and would like to see adjustments made to the proposed incentives, she felt it was time for more council members to delve into the project's details and question the developers.
"If things are not favorable for the entire body, then we can bring (the plan) back to this committee however the council as a whole sees fit," said Johnson, the commitee's chair.
But Santiago-Romero said she didn't think they should move the plan forward.
"I just really want to make sure that we’re not building for the weekend, that we’re not building for downtown only," she said, "because people don’t move to cities for their downtowns. They move to cities because of their transportation, their neighborhood, their culture, their people — all of that. That’s what I’m trying to make sure we have at the forefront here.”
Santiago-Romero also said she feels the approval process has been rushed and that she took offense to a remark made by Bedrock CEO Jared Fleisher during the committee's first meeting about the project on Oct. 22.
At that meeting, Fleisher told council member Denzel McCampbell that he considered his skeptical questioning of the project's need for incentives to be "indecent" in light of Gilbert's $1 billion personal contribution to the project and recent personal struggles, including the death of his son.
Mor Some question if Dan Gilbert, GM are giving enough for RenCen plan
“So I love the city, I love the vision of this work, but I would love to take more time and ask more questions and make sure that we do this right," Santiago-Romero said.
Bedrock and GM have been pushing to get all of the project's local approvals in hand before council goes on recess for the year in December, citing concerns that incoming Democratic Gov. Jocelyn Benson may change the approval process for big development incentives once she takes office in 2027 that could result in lengthy delays.
In total, the project is seeking $548 million in incentives and has a $133 million Community Benefits package of various commitments and community gifts.
The $2.2 billion Renaissance Center redevelopment is to happen in phases over a decade and have two general components: the $1.6 billion redevelopment of the original Renaissance Center towers — including demolition of two of the five — and the $624 million buildout of the 30-acre east riverfront next to the RenCen as public space and an amenity-filled attraction.
The project is to be developed, owned and operated by a new nonprofit organization, with Gilbert personally contributing $1 billion in equity and GM putting down $250 million.
