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 for their proposed $2.2 billion Renaissance Center redevelopment.
The list of about 100 requests, or "recommendations," runs for 18 pages and was presented to the developers and unveiled to the public Oct. 6 during an evening meeting of the project's Neighborhood Advisory Council or 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 and whether or not they will agree to it, saying they had only
been shown the list a few hours before the meeting. The developers are scheduled to give a formal response to the list of requests at the NAC's next meeting on Oct. 13.
“It’s a voluminous document you put together," Steve Ogden, a Bedrock vice president, told the NAC members.
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 said the council's members put many hours of work went into crafting the recommendations.
"(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," Dickens said. “Through this document, we sought to extend housing stability, home ownership, local hiring, living-wage jobs, workforce training, small business growth, accessible transportation and wealth-building opportunities.”
The development calls for demolishing two of the five original Renaissance Center towers, turning the remaining towers into a mix of housing, hotel rooms and modern office space, while building out the riverfront east of the RenCen as an amenity-filled riverfront attraction.
Items on the request list include:
- A commitment to maintain continuous access to the Detroit RiverWalk during the construction project.
- Contributing $6 million to assist skilled-labor training and apprenticeship programs in Detroit.
- Contributing $7.5 million to a Community Wealth and Anti-displacement Fund to advanced economic inclusion.
- Giving $5 million for a down payment assistance fund to help Detroiters purchase homes.
- Contributing $5 million to the Detroit Affordable Housing Development and Preservation Fund.
- Establishing a $5 million Home Repair Fund to help existing homeowners in ZIP Codes adjacent to the RenCen.
- Giving $3 million grants for Detroit small businesses.
- Giving $3 million to an established Community Development Financial Institution for a revolving loan fund for small businesses.
- Giving $2.5 million for maintenance and capital improvements at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre.
- Giving $2 million to a community land trust.
- A $1 million contribution for an "Impacted Business Relief Fund."
- Providing a minimum 100 paid internships and year-round youth employment opportunities.
- A requirement that 40% or more of the project's goods and services be procured from Detroit-based businesses, and 15% come from women-owned businesses.
- Once the development opens, a commitment to give Detroit residents free parking for the first three hours.
- A commitment that all property south of Atwater and all future outdoor property on the existing RenCen footprint be designated public space in perpetuity.
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @jcreindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroiters ask RenCen developers for $40M in gifts. What's on the list
