Neighborhood Advisory Council poised to begin negotiations with RenCen, riverfront developers

Neighborhood Advisory Council members say they’re ready to begin negotiations with developers over plans to demolish part of the Renaissance Center complex and the conversion of the space into an entertainment district along the Detroit River.

Many residents and local advocates repeated longstanding concerns and skepticism about the project from General Motors Co. and Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC at Tuesday night’s Community Benefits Ordinance meeting, particularly related to public funding being directed toward the private development project. 

Despite this, NAC Chair Jamaine Dickens told BridgeDetroit the board is ready to begin drafting the Community Benefits Agreement ahead of next Tuesday’s deadline. 

“I think that the NAC has done yeoman’s work in organizing ideas that have come from the community, ideas that we had on our own that are represented (in the CBA),” Dickens said. “Fleshing those out is the task between now and next week.”

This week marks the close of formal community feedback gathering via public NAC working meetings and a dedicated email for receiving feedback from residents, which closed on Wednesday. The council now begins a closed, line-by-line drafting process to develop the agreement by next Tuesday. 

The project, which is estimated to cost $2.2 billion, is subject to  a controversial community benefits process that has had some successes but has often left Detroiters confused and unsatisfied since it was first established in 2016. Residents at the meeting on Tuesday echoed concerns about the actual benefits residents — particularly Black Detroiters, local businesses and those outside of the downtown area — would see from the development citywide. 

“We need real community benefit for our public dollar that we’re spending,” Said District 5 resident Josh Loerke District 5 during the public comment period. “… Please, if you’re going to spend our money on a private developer, have it produce tangible benefits that serve the public. And no, the development itself does not count as a benefit to the public.”

Residents and advocates have long been vocal about affordability and accessibility concerns for the proposed venues, as well as the feasibility and environmental impact of the project’s proposed timeline. Anthony Eid, Senior Director of Public Policy for the Community Development Advocates of Detroit, offered a list of community benefits demands from CDAD to NAC and developers at the meeting. Among other things, the five themes of the demands include: 

• Increase the number of affordable units
• Make a direct contribution to Detroit’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund
• Invest through existing city homeownership and neighborhood stabilization programs
• Dedicate a fixed share of public financing and tax capture to community benefits 
• Require strong green building, accessibility and public access standards 

The most vocal residents have largely remained on a spectrum of wary to heartbroken since the initial development proposals were announced in 2024. But some residents — especially elder residents, students and local business owners, have expressed excitement around new entertainment and economic growth opportunities.

Waymona Brooks, a grandmother of 10, said she would love for her grandchildren to be able to enjoy a partof Detroit she did when she was younger.

“I used to hang out downtown years ago, and it died off,” she said. “Now it’s coming back, and it’s coming back beautifully. So I’m grateful that I will be able to bring my grandkids down and let them enjoy.”

GM and Bedrock presented the official redevelopment plans for the Renaissance Center earlier this summer. The multi-phase, decades-long project currently includes demolishing two of five iconic — but mostly empty — RenCen towers, converting the remaining towers into housing, hotel and office spaces and developing approximately 30 acres of nearby riverfront into an entertainment district. 

Where is NAC now?

Elected NAC member Teron Haynes on Tuesday posed questions and concerns related to several items, including a financial analysis, gentrification, philanthropy and the proposed marina addition, toward the end of the meeting. He did this over the repeated objection of Dickens, who told him he was out of order.

“You silence me more than you even speak,” Haynes said to Dickens during the meeting. Both later confirmed similar incidents have happened at previous meetings. “When are you going to let me ask them (the developers) questions?”

Dickens later told BridgeDetroit that he felt Haynes’ points would have been better suited for next week when NAC presents their list of identified benefits and impacts to the community.

“I really like to get to a point where we can focus these next five weeks on delivering an agreement that’s in the best interest of the city,” Dickens said.

Still, Dickens stressed that the negotiation document remains living until finalization in late October, and that council members remain open to feedback. He said Tuesday’s meeting was evidence of a constantly evolving process shaped by community feedback. The drafting process was originally slated to begin last week but was postponed.

This Tuesday was the seventh of up to eleven total meetings NAC is scheduled to have before the council has its final vote in October. Formal benefits meetings began last month, and some NAC members have joined district-level meetings hosted by City Council members. Members say they remain committed to being accessible to the residents they represent. 

Detroit’s history with development and benefits

First opened in 1976, the RenCen is one of Michigan’s most recognizable buildings. When GM purchased the building in 1996, it was a catalyst for the revitalization of downtown Detroit and the development of the Riverwalk. To date, GM has invested more than $1 billion in improvements to the RenCen site.

These meetings to explain and gather community input on the purported benefits and impacts of the project are part of the Community Benefits Ordinance. 

Detroit became the first major US city to adopt a CBO in 2016. Amended by the City Council in 2021, the CBO requires developers to take part in resident benefits negotiations for projects valued at $75 million or more that receive either significant public subsidies or tax abatements. 

Per the ordinance, a Neighborhood Advisory Council is seated to negotiate directly with developers on behalf of the public, gathering their feedback through a variety of means, including the CBO meetings. The NAC consists of nine members — two elected by residents in the impacted zone and seven appointed by both the Detroit City Council and the Detroit Planning and Development Department. 

The CBO process has resulted in some local investments, like $2.5 million for outdoor basketball courts across city parks through a CBO with the Detroit Pistons for their new practice facility, and funding for youth programming and skate parks at the former Herman Kiefer complex.

Some Community Benefits Agreements, such as the one associated with Stellantis on the east side, have been criticized for putting residents in the path of increased pollution, while others, such as the Future of Health project at Henry Ford Hospital, were cited as producing some innovative results – including funding for a Community Land Trust. 

The process itself has been criticized for putting undue pressure and burden on volunteer residents who may not be legal and financial experts. There is also concern that having two representatives chosen by residents is not enough and doesn’t create equal footing with developers who have teams of experts to rely on.