Bedrock, General Motors propose $2.2B Renaissance Center redevelopment plan

Bedrock and General Motors are proposing a $2.2 billion redevelopment of the Renaissance Center and east riverfront, but it comes with about $473 million in public incentives.

After reviewing a detailed analysis from the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, Bedrock says without that support, the project doesn't work financially.

"The consensus was, without any public incentives, without any public support, as part of our public-private partnership, the project was completely unsustainable," said Justin Bahri, vice president of public finance at Bedrock.

While $300 million would come through a Transformational Brownfield Plan funded with state revenue, the remainder would come through tax abatements. In return, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation projects about $300 million in new city revenue over 30 years.

"We're looking at a projection of about 2,700 full-time jobs, 8,000 construction jobs, about 934 apartment units, of which about 250 will be affordable," said David Howell, senior vice president of real estate services at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.

The plan also includes retail, entertainment and about 18 acres of new public space along the riverfront.

Bedrock says the community benefits agreement will put its commitments to Detroiters in writing and require the company to report on them.

"Each year, Bedrock and GM will report on those initiatives that have been promised and where we've exceeded those commitments that we're making. So those will be tangible commitments. They'll be codified, they'll be documented and they will absolutely be reported on," said Bahri.

The community benefits process is still underway, with the final agreement and incentive package pending approval.