RenCen Community Benefits Proposal Seeks $40M in Gifts from Developers
Detroiters ask RenCen developers for $40M in gifts. What's on the list
JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press
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Renaissance Center plan draws community criticism
Residents criticize public financing and rushed approval of GM/Bedrock Renaissance Center plan; call for more input. Next meeting Sept. 1
The requests are part of a Community Benefits deal for the proposed $2.2 billion project by Bedrock and General Motors.
Recommendations include funds for:
- Housing
- Small businesses
- Job training
- Maintaining public access to the RiverWalk
Developers are scheduled to formally respond to the extensive list of requests at the next council meeting.
Bedrock and General Motors have been asked to make $40 million in gifts and agree to scores of additional commitments and concessions for a Community Benefits deal. The list of about 100 requests runs for 18 pages and was presented to developers on October 6th during an evening meeting of the project’s Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC).
If approved as is, the proposed Community Benefits package would be one of the largest and most generous packages to date in Detroit.
Representatives for Bedrock and GM generally refrained from commenting about the list during the meeting, saying they had only been shown it a few hours before. They are scheduled to give a formal response at the NAC's next meeting on October 13th.
“It’s a voluminous document you put together," said Steve Ogden, a Bedrock vice president.
The nine-member NAC is made up of local volunteers who devised the list after weeks of comments and survey responses from the public about the Renaissance Center proposal. The Community Benefits process is required in Detroit for large-scale developments that seek public subsidies.
NAC Chair Jamaine Dickens stated, “(We) want to make sure that this development delivers lasting, equitable value to Detroiters while protecting residents, workers, businesses, neighborhoods and public access — during and after construction."
More:
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Why Detroit declared Renaissance Center 'functionally obsolete'
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The development calls for demolishing two of the five original Renaissance Center towers.
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Turning remaining towers into a mix of housing, hotel rooms, and modern office space.
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Building out the riverfront east of RenCen as an amenity-filled riverfront attraction.