A large, multi-layered glass atrium with a giant LED video board leaning out toward Jefferson Avenue are among plans for the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit.
DETROIT, MI - A large, multi-layered glass atrium with a giant LED video board leaning out toward Jefferson Avenue are among plans for the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit.
Officials for General Motors, which has the RenCen as its world headquarters, said Friday that construction on the 120,000-square-foot renovation will begin this summer and be complete in late 2018.
The company is not disclosing a price for the project.
Tim Mahoney, chief marketing officer for Global Chevrolet, said the company aims for the new addition to the building's facade to be an experience that visitors will want to return to.
With the addition "busting out of the building" over the Detroit People Mover track and toward Jefferson Avenue, he said it would be fitting for a building that is often synonymous with images people have of Detroit.
"Quite often when you hear about Detroit that's the symbol you see," he said of the RenCen building, GM's global headquarters since 1996, comparing it to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The renovation will add 8,000 square feet of new construction, and the rest will be an upgrade of existing space, including a former movie theater and other, lower space that company officials said has not been used in the buildings's 39-year history.
The 5.5-million-square-foot Renaissance Center was first completed in 1977, and ironically was first built by Ford Motor Co.
Today, GM has several of its wares proudly displayed throughout the RenCen's sprawling lobby space.
The multi-layered, new renovation space will do the same, as well as being used for community outreach and other events. Retail operations may also be added.
David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com, follow him on Twitter or find him on Facebook.