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Renaissance Center

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A United States Coast Guard Cutter passes the Renaissance Center.

The Renaissance Center (100-400 Renaissance Center, East Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48243), known locally as the "Ren-Cen", is a group of interconnected skyscrapers in downtown Detroit, Michigan, on the Detroit River. The Center has become a symbol for the resurgence of life and business in a city which has a reputation for urban decay and white flight.

Location

The Renaissance Center, located several blocks east of Woodward Avenue and the city's central financial district, is set apart from the rest of Detroit's skyscrapers and has gained a reputation for being a "city within a city" due to the tight cluster of buildings and vast amount of office space within them. There is a pedestrian walkway over Jefferson Avenue connecting the Ren-Cen to the Millender Center, which has another walkway to the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. Hart Plaza, Cobo Hall (home to the North American International Auto Show) and Joe Louis Arena are several blocks to the west, and Comerica Park and Ford Field are several streets northward. The American side of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel emerges directly besides the Ren-Cen and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office is, strictly speaking, housed within the Ren-Cen basement. Renaissance Center is a station on the Detroit People Mover. The buildings' modernist architecture and isolated setting form a significant portion of the city's skyline, as the complex is almost always included in photographs, artwork, and souvenir items.

History

The Renaissance Center was built in an effort to revitalize the economy of Detroit after a long period of decline. The project was funded largely by Henry Ford II of Ford Motor Company as part of the larger Detroit Renaissance group, a collection of wealthy Detroiters who led many revitalization efforts throughout the city in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first tower opened on July 1, 1976. The Ren-Cen was designed by John Portman. The complex consists of seven separate buildings: a central 73-story tower surrounded by four 39-story towers, and two 21-story towers to the northern side. The central tower was originally a Westin hotel, now a smaller partially retained hotel is operated by Marriott. When it was first completed Ford Motor Company occupied many offices in the building. In 1996, General Motors purchased the complex and moved its GM World Headquarters from their famous New Center complex on W. Grand Blvd to the Ren-Cen location.

Statistics

The Renaissance towers

The Renaissance Center cost $337 million to construct, the centerpiece is the 1,298-room, 70-story (plus 2 underground floors), 727ft (221m) central tower. It is the tallest building in the state of Michigan and, for a while, was the tallest hotel in the world, and still the tallest all-hotel structure in the United States. The building is famous for its cylindrical design. The smaller cylinders on sides of all the towers house the elevators. The huge atrium lobby has artificial ponds, hanging gardens, and massive trees. The surrounding towers, named Tower 100, 200, 300, and 400, are 39 stories and 522ft (159m) tall. Two additional towers, named Towers 500 and 600, are 21 stories and 339ft (103m) tall and were completed in 1981. GM gained control of Tower 500 and 600 in 2001. The entire complex has 5.5 million ft² of office space and 150,000 ft² of retail space. Of the 8,000 people that work in the complex 6,000 are GM employees.

Redevelopment

Although the Renaissance Center has helped to improve Detroit's economy, it has failed to revitalize pedestrian life downtown. Until recently, massive berms surrounded the complex, preventing public access from Jefferson Avenue, as GM completed major renovations. The complex has mainly housed offices, with few public attractions beyond small retail stores and a movie theatre. However, extensive renovations were completed in early 2005, transforming the building from a symbol of unrealized potential to a leader in shaping Detroit's downtown revival. A modern glass front door has been installed, opening up the building to visitors and to the city of Detroit. Other additions include a brilliant new Wintergarden that provides views of the Detroit River, a suspended glass circulation ring that helps improve pedestrian flow inside the building's maze-like interior, a GM sponsored showroom of historical vehicles, a completely gutted and restored hotel, and the addition of GM's corporate logo to crown the top of the building. In 2004, the Renaissance Center was featured in the Kevin Costner and Joan Allen film, The Upside of Anger. Costner's character plays a DJ for WRIF 101 FM, a real Detroit FM rock station, whose studio, in the film, is housed in the Renaissance Center

The Riverfront Promenade was dedicated on December 17, 2004 and helped to usher in a return to recreational uses of Detroit's riverfront, an area of the city that had long been neglected. With the addition of several prominent restaurants and retailers to the complex, notably Jos A Bank, Brooks Brothers, Seldom Blues, and a first-run movie theatre, the Ren-Cen has started to redefine Detroit once again for a new generation.

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