After a year plagued with uncertainty amid a pandemic that sent white-collar workers home and shuttered car factories, Detroit’s top occupant reaffirmed its commitment Thursday to its world headquarters in the Renaissance Center along the riverfront.
“After 25 years of our involvement in the transformation of Detroit’s riverfront, our commitment to the city is steadfast,” GM President Mark Reuss said in a statement. “We look to the future with our global headquarters continuing as the flagship of Detroit’s riverfront.”
For sale again?
A published report in 2019 cited unnamed sources saying GM CEO Mary Barra was looking to sell the RenCen, which GM acquired in 1996, to Detroit real estate mogul Dan Gilbert.
GM still owns the building, said GM spokesman David Caldwell. He declined to comment on whether Barra might shop the RenCen again in the future saying only, “This is our headquarters and our headquarters will remain on the riverfront.”
There are about 5,000 GM employees who work at the RenCen and GM will start its return-to-work process for them in June or July, Caldwell said. “We’ll continue to monitor” the pandemic.
In September, GM told its U.S. salaried workforce to plan on continuing to work from home until at least June 30, as first reported by the Free Press.
More:GM tells most salaried workers to stay home till next summer
There remains a possibility that many salaried employees could adopt a hybrid model of working some days in the office in the city and other days remotely, he said.
GM leaders are evaluating health and safety protocols.
“I don’t think we know exactly what it looks like post-pandemic, but we’re working on it,” Caldwell said. “We know the future will be more flexible, but what that exactly means? I’m not sure yet.”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan was not immediately available for a comment on GM’s commitment.
Revitalizing the riverfront
GM’s world headquarters had been in the New Center area prior to 1996.
Since moving to the RenCen, GM has made considerable upgrades to the building and the city’s RiverWalk, which is 3.5 miles long, running from Joe Louis Arena to Gabriel Richard Park. The goal is to eventually extend it to 5.5 miles.
“The Detroit RiverWalk exists in large part due to the visionary leadership of General Motors,” said Mark Wallace, CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.
In 2004, GM donated a half-mile of waterfront property valued at more than $30 million to the city, Caldwell said.
“GM joined the City of Detroit and the Kresge Foundation in 2003 to form a public-private partnership that has transformed the riverfront into a beautiful gathering place,” Wallace said. “Additionally, GM has built some of the most beloved places on the riverfront, including the GM Fountain, GM Plaza and the Wintergarden.”
Recently, USA Today named the Detroit International RiverWalk the best in the nation.
More potential
Beyond that, GM’s initial $500 million renovation to the RenCen reshaped downtown Detroit and that building.
GM removed the fortress-like concrete berms outside and opened the property and riverfront to the public. The 5.5-million-square-foot building includes 29 restaurants; the Marriott Hotel, which has 1,300 rooms; the 44,000-square-foot GM World with new vehicle displays, and it is Detroit’s tallest building at 73 stories high. There about 6,000 tenant employees there, according to gmrencen.com.
In total, GM has invested about $1 billion in the RenCen and Detroit riverfront transformation since 1996, Caldwell said.
More recently, GM is investing $2.2 billion to upgrade its Factory ZERO, previously called Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, to be a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to building all electric vehicles. The factory, which sits just 4 miles from the RenCen, will start production this fall. The first electric vehicle it will assemble is the 2022 GMC Hummer electric pickup followed by the Cruise Origin self-driving car.
In January, Duggan said Factory ZERO will likely help Detroit also “land an auto supplier that will supply” it.
More:Detroit’s Duggan sees new GM factory luring auto parts supplier
In the past five years, GM has invested more than $50 million with local nonprofit groups to support education, workforce development, neighborhood revitalization and efforts to support economic development in the city.
Caldwell could not comment on GM’s future investments in the property, but noted that the automaker owns much of the land adjacent to the RenCen to the east that remains open to development.
“It’s difficult to foresee any future development, but we’re confident that the momentum of the last 25 years can carry forward for sure,” Caldwell said. “There is even more potential. … It’s been the flagship of the riverfront for the past 25 years, so we are confident it’ll continue to have enhancements.”
(This story has been edited to correct when GM expects to bring back workers to the RenCen.)
Contact Jamie L. LaReau: 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.