Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.

Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway is seeking to designate the Renaissance Center as a protected historic district, which could throw a wrench in redevelopment plans.

The council will consider asking the Historic Designation Advisory Board to study the RenCen’s eligibility. Deputy Director Lisa DiChiera already indicated the site is a good candidate since it exemplifies the city’s history, is connected to historic figures and events and achieved significance within the last 50 years.

Historic districts are enacted by the City Council through an ordinance. Being designated makes it harder for developers to modify or demolish buildings, but details can vary. Development plans would need to be approved by the Historic District Commission.

Whitfield-Calloway has been outspoken against plans to partially demolish the iconic complex and spend $1.6 billion to build a riverfront attraction similar to Navy Pier in Chicago. The latest plan calls for tearing down the two towers closest to the Detroit River.

Whitfield-Calloway previously called for converting the top 20 floors of the four towers into residential units.

I wasn’t able to catch her after Tuesday’s meeting and staff didn’t respond to additional requests for comment. Stay tuned for more information when I have it.

General Motors Co. is partnering with Bedrock, which will host the automaker’s headquarters in the Hudson’s site a few blocks away. Representatives of Bedrock could not be immediately reached on Tuesday.

The council is scheduling a Feb. 27 conversation on the Renaissance Center’s future.

Council Member Mary Waters said designating the RenCen as an historic district could prevent the city from bringing in revenue, which makes it tough for her to support the idea. Waters said she heard a presentation from Bedrock, which is under an umbrella of companies owned by billionaire Dan Gilbert.

“I like what I heard from the Gilbert people,” Waters said. “You’ve got to hear the presentation in terms of what they are offering to do. I was impressed. It lends access to so many more people.” 

The Law Department submitted a privileged memo on Jan. 30 regarding the Renaissance Center’s eligibility. Privileged memos are confidential communications, so it’s unclear what the legal analysis says.

The Renaissance Center was the largest privately funded real estate development of its time and  a cornerstone of then-mayor Coleman Young’s efforts to revitalize downtown.

Atlanta architect John Portman was at the height of his fame when Henry Ford II hired him to design the RenCen. Portman’s hotels in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York became glittering symbols of urban renewal, but his work has its critics.

The RenCen has been panned as an uninviting and insular fortress separated from downtown, with a confusing layout and poor connection to the riverfront.

Meanwhile, Bedrock is moving forward with a $3.5 billion riverfront development project in Cleveland. Bedrock CEO Kofi Bonner attended a groundbreaking for a new Cleveland Cavaliers training facility, the first building included in a 35-acre real estate plan.

Bedrock has promised a “transit-oriented neighborhood” there with pedestrian spaces including riverbank enhancements and kayak launches. It’s anchored by a $488 million, 17-story entertainment complex and hotel dubbed “Rock and Roll Land.”

See a map of all historic districts here. The Renaissance Center isn’t included, but large parts of downtown are, like the financial district, Capitol Park, Grand Circus Park, Washington Boulevard and more.

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What page are we on?

Today’s notebook covers the Feb. 11 formal session.

Dig into the agenda, read Detroit Documenter notes or watch the recording for more details.

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Don’t miss this: Stephen Henderson and I partnered with Detroit Is Different to build a new platform for discussion of 2025 elections. We’re calling it “Detroit Next.”

Subscribe to BridgeDetroit’s YouTube channel to be there when the first show drops.

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Funds sought for DDOT overhaul 

Transit advocates are pushing the city to ramp up transportation funding to add buses, hire drivers and improve frequency for a system that has taken slow strides to improve in recent years.

Nearly a year since Detroit released its “DDOT Reimagined” transit master plan, the City Council voiced support through a Tuesday resolution.

The council called on Duggan to prioritize funding for “full implementation” of the plan.

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Tuesday’s vote comes amid a chorus of residents who are setting an expectation for funding increases ahead of budget negotiations. DDOT is scheduled to appear before the council for a budget hearing on March 17.

DDOT Reimagined aims to have buses run every 15 minutes or 30 minutes, depending on the route. It would require twice the current number of bus drivers and a 60% increase in the number of buses, according to the resolution.

Detroit has an ideal environment for transit connections, and a lower-income population that are more likely to need frequent buses. The DDOT report notes that service issues are keeping people from riding.

Other parts of the plan call for bus stop enhancements, 250 new shelters over three phases, creation of new boarding islands, and displays with real-time information.

DDOT had a $189 million budget for fiscal year 2025, an increase from $167 million from the previous year. Activists say that’s not enough. They’re calling to double the funding over the next five years, starting with adding $36 million in next year’s budget.

Advocates say Detroit residents face a trifecta of inequity: the highest auto insurance rates, the lowest median income, and the lowest public transit funding among all major U.S. cities.

Resident Karen Hammer said Detroit needs reliable transportation alternatives and called on the council to boat funding for drivers and mechanics.

Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero called for more investment to fully implement the DDOT master plan. 

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2025-26 budget incoming 

The City Council will hear Duggan’s 2025-26 budget proposal during a special session at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 28.

City Council committees will hold departmental hearings from March 12 to April 7. Each meeting has a one-hour time limit. We covered these intensively last year in collaboration with the Detroit Documenters and Outlier Media.

A public hearing will be set for March 31 at 5 p.m. for residents to give feedback on Duggan’s budget recommendation.

The council must vote on the budget by April 7. Duggan could veto the budget. The council could then override his veto with a two-thirds vote by April 15.

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‘Racquet Up Detroit’ seeks funding   

A Detroit recreation and education nonprofit asked the City Council to fund its organization ahead of budget conversations. 

Racquet Up Detroit CEO Derek Aguirre promoted the group’s efforts to empower youth through an after-school mentoring program combining academics, community service and the sport of squash.

The organization was founded in 2010 and operated out of the Northwest Activities Center before a new facility was built three years ago on West Outer Drive in District 2.

Aguirre said participating students are part of an inclusive year-round program that has a 100% high school graduation and college acceptance rate. Eight alumni went on to play squash in college.

Anyone can learn to play at weekly community squash nights starting at 6:45 p.m. on Thursdays.

Whitfield-Calloway said she’d like to see an east side facility. She was impressed by the group’s focus on academics before sports.

“I want to support you in this budget,” she said. “There’s nothing small about what you are doing. I hope to find some resources to upgrade your program so we can expand it.”

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Detroit’s next police chief needs council support 

Duggan recommended hiring Todd Bettison as Detroit Chief of Police this week. The council will vote soon to authorize the appointment.

Bettison has served as interim chief since November 2024. He would earn a starting salary of $243,152 – the same as his predecessor James White  – and serve an initial term of two years if approved by the council.

Waters said Bettison probably won’t find much difficulty gathering enough votes to get the job. But she was concerned that the search process didn’t result in a better crop of candidates to choose from.

The Board of Police Commissioners also recommended hiring Joel Fitzgerald, who has served as police chief in five cities, and Chicago police veteran Joshua Wallace, who now works as a commander in the department’s Counterterrorism Bureau.

“I don’t want it to be a popularity contest because Bettison certainly has the experience, but I thought I was looking forward to hearing about better candidates.”

Bettison, previously Duggan’s deputy mayor, took over after White left to run the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network. White stood behind Bettison during a Monday press conference.

Duggan called Bettison “a unifying force” who rose the ranks of the Detroit Police Department.

“If I could pick any person in America to be the next chief of the Detroit Police Department, I would pick Todd Bettison,” Duggan said on Monday.

Bettison joked that he has a degree from the “Duggan school of business” after serving as his deputy mayor — Bettison also obtained a certificate from the Mike Ilitich School of Business at Wayne State University.

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Land Bank property headed to community nonprofit 

The council approved the transfer of 94 parcels of Detroit Land Bank Authority property to America’s Community Council.

The property was sold to ACC for $61,429. Formerly known as the Arab-American and Chaldean Council, the organization expects to build housing but doesn’t have a development plan finalized. The land is largely vacant and abandoned, according to city officials.

The land is located in Grixdale Farms, just south of the ACC’s five-building campus. Representatives told the council they will clean up the site, grade it and fence the area off.

Council President Pro Tem James Tate said the area is “ripe for development” during a previous committee meeting.

“I know what this land looks like, at one point every home along those streets was abandoned,” he said.

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Solar project land trades continue

Eight residents are selling homes near the city’s solar development sites to the Public Lighting Department for $1 million.

The homes are in neighborhoods where Detroit explored locating a solar farm but ultimately weren’t chosen. Sellers are in a surrounding impact area where homeowners near solar farms can obtain energy efficiency upgrades or sell their property.

The council created an equity fund in 2024 to buy properties. Homeowners with a principal residence exemption on file are being offered twice the fair market value of the home or a minimum of $90,000.

Sales prices ranged from $92,500 to $205,000.

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Cass Tech football reigns supreme

Victorious student-athletes from Cass Technical High School celebrated their latest football state championship with the City Council. 

Cass Tech won its first state title since 2016 and fourth in the school’s history with a 42-20 win against Hudsonville last November. The Division I State Championship game was played at Ford Field, and students were celebrated with a parade in December.

Quarterback Donald Tabron II is a freshman who missed the first three games due to injury then led his team to the title. Tabron threw three touchdowns in the championship game.

Tabron thanked coaches and supporters who rallied around the team after a disappointing 2-2 start to the season.

“Work during the season was hard, but we thugged it out with the team,” Tabron said. “If it was early in the morning or late at night, we would go to practice, work hard and bond as a team.”