Renaissance Center Totally Explained

Everything about Renaissance Center totally explained

| roof = 221.5 m (727 ft)| top_floor = 212.3 m (697 ft)| antenna_spire = 230.1 m (758 ft)| floor_count = 73 story tower with four
39 story towers and two
21 story towers| floor_area = 5.5 million ft² complex
(511,000 m²)| architect = John Portman, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Gensler, SmithGroup, Ghafari Associates| skyscraperpage_id = 3523|}}
The Renaissance Center, nicknamed the RenCen, is a group of seven interconnected skyscrapers in Detroit, Michigan. Located on the International Riverfront, the entire Renaissance Center complex is owned by General Motors Corporation as its world headquarters. The central tower, called the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, is the tallest all-hotel skyscaper in the Western Hemisphere with the largest rooftop restaurant, called Coach Insignia. It has remained 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. Portman designed the complex to have "interior spaces". This first phase officially opened in March 1977. Portman's design renewed attention to city architecture, constructing the world's tallest skyscaper hotel at the time with the world's largest rooftop restaurant. Two additional 21-story office towers opened in 1981. This type of complex has been termed a "city within a city" or a "pseudo city".
In 2003, General Motors completed a $500 million renovation of the Renaissance Center for its world headquarters which it had purchased in 1996. The renovation included the addition of a five-story Wintergarden which provides access to the International Riverfront. Work continued in and around the complex until 2005. The Renaissance Center totals 5.5 million square feet (511,000 m²), making it one of the world's largest office complexes. Cost estimates to build the Renaissance Center today could exceed $5 billion. In 2006, a cruise-ship dock was added to Hart Plaza, adjacent to the Renaissance Center.

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. In part, civic leaders intended this ambitious urban renewal project to quell the white flight which increased, following the social unrest from the 12th Street riot in 1967. The project was intended to revitalize the economy of Detroit. In 1970, Ford Motor Company Chairman Henry Ford II teamed up to form Detroit Renaissance, a private non-profit development organization, which he headed in order to stimulate building activity in areas of Detroit that had been severely impacted. 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, Canada and the MacArthur Bridge, which connects the city with Belle Isle Park. northwest of downtown. By 2003, GM had completed an extensive $500 million renovation of the Renaissance Center.

Statistics

Building	Year	Stories	Height feet / m	Area feet² / m²	Principal tenant(s)
Central - Hotel Tower	1977 2003	73	727/221	1,660,000/154,000 estimate	Marriott
Southwest - Tower 100	1977 2003	39	522/159	575,000/53,400	General Motors United States Post Office
Northwest - Tower 200	1977 2003	39	522/159	575,000/53,400	GMAC Financial Services
Northeast - Tower 300	1977 2003	39	522/159	575,000/53,400	General Motors
Southeast - Tower 400	1977 2003	39	522/159	575,000/53,400	General Motors
Podium structures beneath Towers 100-400	1977 2003	5	103/31.39	660,000/61,000	GM World, exhibit space & retail
Tower 500	1981 2004	21	339/103	320,000/30,000	Electronic Data Systems & retail
Tower 600	1981 2004	21	339/103	340,000/32,000	Deloitte & retail
Wintergarden & shops	2001	5	103/31.39	150,000/14,000	GM & retail space
Wintergarden atrium	2001	5	103/31.39	40,000/3,700	GM main floor exhibit space
Mezzanine office	1977 2003	NA	NA	30,000/2,800	GM University
Renaissance Center total	1977 2004	NA	727/221	5,500,000/511,000	All

   Entirely owned by General Motors, the complex has of space. The centerpiece is the 1,298-room luxury hotel, 73-story 727 foot (221 m). Its height is measured from its main Wintergarden entrance on Atwater Street which faces the International Riverfront. The central tower is 738'-5" tall from lowest basement service level to the exterior elevator tower. It is 747'-0" from the basement driveway level. The main Renaissance Center complex rised from a 14-acre site (56,700 m²).
   Famous for its cylindrical design, the central hotel tower's diameter is approximately 188 feet (57 m). A lighted glass walkway, called the "green ring", radiates the mezzanine level and encircles the base of cyclindrical 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 of meeting space including a Renaissance Ballroom for up to 2,200 guests with for events, one of the largest in the United States.
   In 1977, its central tower opened as the tallest hotel in the world. It remains the tallest all hotel skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere and it's still the tallest building in Michigan. 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 of office space. Each 39 story tower has a base five-story podium structure with for retail space for a total of . A portion of the central atrium area houses "GM World", a show case for GM vehicles.
   Towers 100 and 200 can be accessed from the front of the podium, which lies exacty 14' (4.27m) higher than the Atwater Street/Wintergarden entrance at the back of the podium. Towers 100-400 are 503'-2.2" to the main roof parapet wall. If measured from the front of the podium along Jefferson Avenue, Towers 100 and 200 are exactly 14' shorter. Tower 200 contains the Riverfront 4, a four-screen, first-run movie theater, on the third floor of the tower. The Renaissance Club, a private club founded by Henry Ford II in 1987, is located on the 36th floor of the tower. The Renaissance Conference Center is located on the second floor of tower 300. Towers 300 and 400 can be accessed from the front of the podium, which lies exacty 14' (4.27m) higher than the Atwater Street/Wintergarden entrance at the back of the podium.
   In December 2001, the General Motors Wintergarden retail atrium was unveiled. Designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill, it rises 103 feet (31.39m) tall at its highest point offering direct access to the Detroit River. In 1981, two 21 story towers (500-600) were added each of which reach 339 feet (103 m). Towers 500 and 600 can be accessed by from the front of the podium along North Renaissance Center Drive, which sits 33'-8" higher than the back of the podium along Franklin Street. The parapet wall rises 4'-3" above the main roof deck of Tower 500 and 600. GM gained control of Tower 500 and 600 in 2001. In addition, the five-story Wintergarden atrium area, added in 2001, has devoted to retail with of contiguous main floor exhibit space which was used by the media during Super Bowl XL.
   In 2003, GM completed its $500 million renovation of the Renaissance Center, though work continued in and around the complex until 2005. The project included the work of many different architects including Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago, SmithGroup of Detroit, Gensler Detroit office, and Ghafari Associates of Dearborn who did the renovation of the office towers. The majority of the construction operations were led by Turner Construction Company. The cost of the renovation doesn't include the cost for reconfiguring the streets around the Renaissance Center or the cost of river park along the Detroit International Riverfront. Hines completed redevelopment of Towers 500 & 600 for GM in 2004. Estimates to construct the Renaissance Center today could exceed $5 billion. More than 10,000 people (about 6,000 of them GM employees) work in the complex.

Redevelopment

The $500 million renovation of the Renaissance Center completed in 2003 has helped improve Detroit's economy. Together, GM's renovation of the Renaissance Center, the cost to re-work the roads around the complex, and the Detroit Riverwalk exceeded $1 billion; the project constituted a substantial investment in downtown. Over 10,000 people work inside the complex, which includes a 1,298 room hotel. Nearly 2,000 state workers now occupy GM's former office building in the restored Cadillac Place in the historic New Center area. The Wintergarden added to the Renaissance Center faces the Detroit Riverfront with stunning views of the Windsor skyline. The cement berms facing Jefferson Avenue were removed greatly improving access to the complex. The complex houses offices, a hotel, retail specialty shops, restaurants, a jazz club, and a movie theater. A glass front door has been installed, opening up the building to visitors and to the city of Detroit. The addition of the Wintergarden provides views of the Detroit River, a suspended lighted glass walkway encircling the complex (called the "green ring") makes for easy navigation, a GM sponsored showroom of historical vehicles, a completely restored hotel, a renovated rooftop restaurant, and the addition of GM's corporate logo to crown the top of the building.
The Riverfront Promenade was dedicated on December 17, 2004 and helped to usher in a return to recreational uses of Detroit's International Riverfront. GM played a key role in the transformation of the riverfront with a donation of $120 million to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy for the development of a world class riverfront promenade which has a planned cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. With the addition of several prominent restaurants and retailers to the complex – such as JoS. A. Bank Clothiers, Seldom Blues, and a first-run movie theatre – the RenCen has started to redefine Detroit once again for a new generation. In 2006, the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority added a new state of the art cruise ship dock adjacent to the Renaissane Center on Hart Plaza. Port authority bonds were used to add another 1500 space parking garage to the Renaissance Center. The Omni Riverplace Hotel in a restored historic structure is situated along the Riverwalk. Planned projects complementing the Renaissance Center continue along the Detroit International Riverfont which include development of luxury condominiums, retail, and entertainment usage.

In popular culture

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. Among others, the Renaissance Center is featured in the film Grosse Pointe Blank, starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver. For the 2005 Major League Baseball all-star game, the center tower of the Renaissance Center was wrapped with an image of a large baseball smashing into the tower, with "4612 Ft." written below it to indicate the distance from home plate at Comerica Park. For Super Bowl XL held in Detroit on February 5, 2006, a large National Football League logo was wrapped around the main tower just beneath the GM logo. The Renaissance Center hosted the major media for Super Bowl XL. GM offered the Wintergarden a venue for the annual Fash Bash, a fashion event and fundraiser coordinated by the Detroit Institute of Arts. On June 20th, 2008 GM is sponsoring a live event supporting the changes in the world, "World Re-Invention: Imagine and Get Together". Celebrity's including Brittany Murphy and Josh Hartnett and more will be appearing along with 88 young volunteers who will raise their voice.

Location

The Renaissance Center, east of Woodward Avenue and the city's central financial district, is set apart from the rest of Detroit's skyscrapers. From the top of the Renaissance Center's Coach Insignia restaurant, patrons peer down upon the neogothic spires of the Comerica Tower and city's Art Deco skyscrapers and stadiums. The view from the top extends for in all directions. A pedestrian walkway over Jefferson Avenue connects the complex to the Millender Center which connects to the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. Hart Plaza, Cobo Hall (home to the North American International Auto Show) and Joe Louis Arena (Detroit Red Wings) are several blocks to the west. Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers) and Ford Field (Detroit Lions) are several streets northward. The American side of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel emerges directly besides the Renaissance Center. Renaissance Center is a station on the Detroit People Mover. The Renaissance Center's modernist architecture balances the city's panoramic waterfront skyline, a frequent feature in photography taken from the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario.

Tours

The Renaissance Center offers tours which are free of charge four times a day six days a week (as of March 2007). The tour covers among other places the GM Wintergarden, GM World, an elevator ride up to the 72nd floor and a tour of the movie theater.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Renaissance Center'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://renaissance_center.totallyexplained.com">Renaissance Center Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.