The Renaissance Center (also known as the GM Renaissance Center and nicknamed the RenCen ) is a group of seven interconnected skyscrapers in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. Located on the International Riverfront, the Renaissance Center complex is owned by General Motors as its world headquarters. The central tower, called the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, is the tallest all-hotel skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere, and features the largest rooftop restaurant, Coach Insignia. It has been the tallest building in Michigan since 1977.
John Portman was the principal architect for the original design. The first phase constructed a five-building rosette, with a 73-story hotel surrounded by four 39-story office towers, all surrounded by a square-shaped, all-retail podium. This first phase officially opened in March 1977. Portman's design renewed attention to city architecture, constructing the world's tallest hotel at the time. Two additional 21-story office towers opened in 1981. This type of complex has been termed a city within a city.
In 2004, General Motors completed a $500 million renovation of its world headquarters in the Renaissance Center, which it had purchased in 1996. The renovation included the addition of the five-story Wintergarden, which provides access to the International Riverfront. Architects for the renovation included Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Gensler, SmithGroup, and Ghafari Associates. Work continued in and around the complex until 2005. The Renaissance Center totals 5,552,000 square feet (515,800 m 2 ) making it one of the world's largest office complexes.
History
Conceived by Henry Ford II and financed primarily by the Ford Motor Company, the Renaissance Center became the world's largest private development with an anticipated 1971 cost of $500 million. The project was intended to revitalize the economy of Detroit. In its first year of operation it generated over $1 billion in economic growth for the downtown.
In 1970, Ford Motor Company Chairman Henry Ford II teamed up with other business leaders to form Detroit Renaissance, a private non-profit development organization, which he headed in order to stimulate building activity in the city. The group announced the first phase of construction in 1971. In addition, Detroit Renaissance contributed to a variety of other projects within the downtown area in the ensuing decades. Henry Ford II sold the concept of the RenCen to the City and community leaders. Detroit mayor Roman Gribbs touted the project as a complete rebuilding from bridge to bridge, referring to the area between the Ambassador Bridge that connected Detroit to Windsor, Ontario and the MacArthur Bridge, which connects the city with Belle Isle Park.
The city within a city arose. The first tower of the Renaissance Center opened on July 1, 1976. Principal architect John Portman was also the architect for the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel and the Peachtree Center in Atlanta, Georgia; the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, California; and the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California. For phase I, the facade of the first five towers was covered with 2,000,000 sq ft (186,000 m 2 ) of glass, and used about 400,000 cubic yards (310,000 m 3 ) of concrete. This did not include the additional glass used for the atriums.
Phase I of the Renaissance Center cost $337 million to construct, employing 7,000 workers. In 1977, the central hotel tower of the Renaissance Center, which opened as a Westin Hotel, became the world's tallest all-hotel skyscraper, surpassing its architectural twin, the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta. What is today known as the Swissôtel The Stamford (1986) in Singapore had surpassed it. Since 1986, the Renaissance Center's central tower has remained the tallest all-hotel skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere.
On April 15, 1977, Henry Ford II and Detroit mayor Coleman Young unveiled a plaque commemorating the private investors whose funds made the project possible and, later that evening, 650 business and society leaders attended a benefit celebrating the Renaissance Center's formal dedication. The money raised from the $300-per-couple tickets went to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. When it opened, the cylindrical central tower was originally the flagship of the Westin Hotels. The top three floors of the hotel hosted an upscale restaurant, The Summit, that rotated to allow a 360 degree view.
In 1980, Detroit hosted the Republican National Convention which nominated Ronald Reagan who had stayed at the Renaissance Center while in Detroit.
Metro Detroit expanded upon the city within a city concept with the nearby 2,200,000 sq ft (204,000 m 2 ) Southfield Town Center office complex with its five inter-connected golden skyscrapers constructed from 1975 to 1989. In the ensuing years, the Renaissance Center would face competition from the growing suburban office market.
In 1987, the elevated Detroit People Mover transit line, after many years of construction, began operation with a stop at the Renaissance Center. At first, the Ford Motor Company had occupied many offices in the building. In 1996, General Motors purchased the complex and moved its world headquarters to the Renaissance Center downtown from what is now the historic Cadillac Place state office complex in the New Center district, northwest of downtown.
By 2004, GM completed an extensive $500 million renovation of the Renaissance Center. This included a $100 million makeover for the hotel. Among GM's first actions was to remove the concrete berms facing Jefferson Avenue. The renovation includes a lighted glass walkway which encircles the interior mezzanine for ease of navigation, while the addition of the Wintergarden provides riverfront access and a view of Canada. A covered skyway over Jefferson Avenue connects to the Millender Center, Courtyard by Marriott - Downtown Detroit, and Coleman A. Young Municipal Center.
The Renaissance Center is owned by General Motors. The hotel in the central tower is now occupied by the Marriott hotel chain and is called the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. The 1,298 room hotel is one of the largest operated by Marriott. The rooftop restaurant (which no longer rotates) received a $10 million renovation and is occupied by the Matt Prentice Restaurant Groups Coach Insignia. It serves Coach wines, a product of the Fisher family whose legacy includes Fisher Body, a name which is part of GM history.
The Renaissance Center's renovation provides for the prospect of continued development and restorations throughout the city. Architectural critics have touted the city's architecture as among America's finest.
Statistics
Architecture
The centerpiece is the 1,298-room luxury hotel, 73-story 727 foot (221.5 m). Its height is measured from its main Wintergarden entrance on Atwater Street which faces the International Riverfront where the complex measures 14 feet (4.27m) taller. Entirely owned by General Motors, the complex has 5,552,000 sq ft (515,800 m 2 ) of space. The main Renaissance Center complex rises from a 14-acre site (56,700 m²).
Famous for its cylindrical design, the central hotel tower's diameter is 188 feet (57 m). A lighted glass walkway radiates the mezzanine level and encircles the base of cylindrical hotel tower for ease of navigation. This ringed glass walkway is about 12 feet (3.7 m) wide and has a circumference of approximately 660 ft (201 m) or about one-eighth of a mile (.2 km) around. The ringed walkway's diameter is approximately 210 feet (64 m). It links to several other walkways in the complex. The five-story Wintergarden atrium leads into the central area which has an eight-story atrium lobby with artificial ponds, rounded concrete balconies, and terraces. Floors 71 through 73 include the Coach Insignia, an upscale restaurant with a lounge area/observation floor. The hotel has no floor labeled 7, 8, or 13. The hotel features a major conference center with 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m 2 ) of meeting space including a Renaissance Ballroom for up to 2,200 guests with 26,000 sq ft (2,400 m 2 ) for events, one of the largest in the United States.
John Portman designed the five-building rosette with interior spaces. In 1977, its central tower opened as the tallest hotel in the world. It remains the tallest all hotel skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. The smaller cylinders on sides of all the towers house the elevators. The four surrounding 39-story office towers (100-400) each reach 522 feet (159 m) and have a total of 2,200,000 sq ft (204,400 m 2 ) of space. Each 39 story tower has a base five-story podium structure with 165,000 sq ft (15,300 m 2 ) for retail space for a total of 660,000 sq ft (61,000 m 2 ). A portion of the central atrium area houses GM World , a show case for GM vehicles. Two 21-story towers (500
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