DETROIT – With the future of the Renaissance Center up in the air with General Motors moving its global headquarters to the Hudson’s Detroit development on Woodward Avenue, other tenants in the RenCen are concerned about what it will mean for them.
Related: Future of Ren Cen uncertain as General Motors plans relocation to Hudson’s tower in Detroit
Allegra owner Kurt Eschenburg is hoping Bedrock breathes new life into the building.
“General Motors builds cars. Let’s face it, they are not in the commercial real estate business,” he said.
The RenCen’s next chapter could include commercial, residential or mixed uses.
GM, Bedrock and the city are planning to take a year to figure that all out.
“These days urban planning is based more on open concepts and being accessible to all people. With regard to the RenCen, the way it was built, poses a lot of complications for its ultimate reuse,” said Kirk Pinho, with Crain’s Detroit.
Along Woodward Avenue, where GM will call home in 2025, many nearby businesses are looking forward to the increased foot traffic from the automaker’s office workers.
“It is really going to help a lot of the businesses down here, not just me. It’s La Pecora Nera around the corner,” Chef Andrew Ossowski-Blair with Chick-P Detroit said.
The chocolate shop, Bon Bon Bon, is located off Woodward, tucked away in Parker’s Alley.
“Any business where the employees are a lot closer will give us more foot traffic, which would be essential to all the businesses in the alley,” Lybia Calloway with Bon Bon Bon said.