DETROIT — Developers of the proposed $2.2 billion Renaissance Center project are resisting calls for deeper affordable housing commitments, as Detroit residents press for lower rents and millions of dollars in housing assistance in exchange for public subsidies toward a reimagining of the iconic riverfront complex.

Nearly 200 apartments in the proposed Renaissance Center redevelopment would be capped at roughly $1,080 to $1,260 per month, developers offered this week, in response to calls for affordable housing. But residents on the Neighborhood Advisory Council want lower rents, a fund to stabilize rents in nearby neighborhoods and money to help Detroiters buy homes.

Developers from Bedrock LLC and General Motors Co. during a community meeting on Oct. 13 batted down requests for even cheaper rental options, a $5 million rent stabilization fund for renters who live near the RenCen and a $5 million down-payment fund to support homeownership in Detroit.

The differing views come as Bedrock LLC and General Motors Co. seek nearly $550 million in taxpayer subsidies for the project, which would transform GM's former headquarters and the surrounding riverfront.

Residents on the Neighborhood Advisory Council have asked developers to invest in the affordable housing programs last week after community members repeatedly raised concerns about homelessness and steep rent in the city.

"I've said before, and many Detroiters through public comment have said this: Downtown is being developed in a way that is becoming inaccessible for Detroiters, specifically Black Detroiters," said Teron Haynes Jr., a resident on the council.

Detroit requires community input through neighborhood councils when developers request city tax breaks, and developers are asking for nearly $550 million in taxpayer subsidies for the $2.2 billion project.

"For a philanthropic opportunity for Detroiters, it really does feel like you guys are complicit in the annexing of native Detroiters and Detroiters from the downtown area," Haynes added.

Public finance Vice President Justin Bahri said Bedrock will make "a significant monetary commitment" to affordable housing in Detroit but wants to do so in coordination with Mayor Mary Sheffield.

"We know that the mayor and the mayor's administration has mentioned and has cared deeply about some of these same concerns that you mentioned: Supporting our neighborhoods (and) making sure that housing is accessible and affordable," Bahri said. "And so we've got dollars — a large, significant financial commitment — that we intend on making, and we'd like to do that in alignment with the mayor's office."

Bahri also noted the one-bedroom units are "large" planned to be 1,600 to 1,800 square feet in size.

"The goal here wasn't to optimize and create tons of studio units (or) smaller micro units," he said. "The goal here was to have units that are of reasonable size (that) people could grow into."

Bedrock pledged to offer 20%, or 187, of the 934 planned apartments at a 40% discount from estimated market rents.

Bahri estimated median rents for one-bedroom apartments in downtown Detroit at about $1,800 to $1,900 a month and two-bedroom units at $2,100 to $2,200. Based on those estimates, a one-bedroom apartment discounted 40% would cost about $1,080 a month, while a two-bedroom would cost $1,260.

The Neighborhood Advisory Council had proposed about 140 units for low-income renters at 30% of market value, or about $540 a month for a one-bedroom apartment. The council also wants another 140 units capped at half of market value, or $900 for a one-bedroom, and roughly 93 apartments priced at 80% of market value.

Developers also rejected requests for a $5 million rent stabilization fund for renters living near the Renaissance Center and a $5 million down-payment fund to support homeownership in Detroit.

Jake Chidester, Bedrock's vice president of strategic initiatives, said a rent stabilization fund could backfire by artificially raising rental prices downtown. He also pointed to billionaire real estate mogul Dan Gilbert's previously announced commitment to spend $500 million helping Detroiters keep their homes and the Gilbert Family Foundation's Make It Home program, which has helped about 1,700 households transition from renting to homeownership.

Gilbert's Bedrock and GM want to transform the Detroit automaker's former headquarters and the surrounding riverfront into a Navy Pier-esque destination. Developers argue that demand for downtown office space is low and that the towering and labyrinthine building limits access to the waterfront.

In a blog post published this week, Eric Larson, CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, discussed the broader stakes of the Renaissance Center redevelopment, saying the proposed removal of two towers and the complex's massive podium could open up publicly accessible waterfront and improve connections between downtown and the Detroit Riverwalk.

Larson said he helped lead the Renaissance Center's repositioning after GM acquired the complex in 1996. He wrote that the earlier renovation and subsequent investments improved the property but could not overcome its inward-facing design and barriers between downtown and the river.

"For decades, Detroiters have described the Renaissance Center as an island," he wrote. "Jefferson Avenue separates it from the activity and growth of downtown. Its enormous podium separates people from the river. Navigating the complex has never been intuitive. And despite the improvements made over the years, one of the most extraordinary waterfronts of any American city has never achieved its full potential as a truly public place. We now have an opportunity to change that."

As for bringing down the two towers, Larson wrote: "The demolition of two towers understandably troubles people. It should. Buildings of this scale and architectural significance should never be removed casually. Preservation advocates have made legitimate arguments about the Renaissance Center’s place in Detroit’s architectural and civic history. Those concerns deserve respect and serious consideration. But preservation also must confront today’s realities ... Detroit does not have millions of square feet of unfulfilled office demand waiting for the Renaissance Center."

Larson cited a CBRE report showing overall Detroit office vacancy at 19.4% in the second quarter of 2026.

"That is not an argument against Detroit," he wrote. "It is recognition of a structural change occurring in office markets throughout America."

GM in January downsized its headquarters in the Renaissance Center and moved to Bedrock's newly renovated Hudson's Detroit building.

Bedrock and GM's plans for what to do with the now largely vacant RenCen include converting some hotel rooms and offices into 934 apartments and renovating the 200 Tower into modern office space. Jake Chidester, vice president of strategic initiatives for Bedrock, on Oct. 13 said the real estate company also plans to develop a movie theater in the area.

Business owners and some community members have lauded the planned riverfront investment as an opportunity to further grow downtown.

But there has been tension with some residents opposed to using taxpayer dollars to subsidize a project by Gilbert, and many have said resources would be better spent on affordable housing.

Negotiations between the Neighborhood Advisory Council and RenCen developers continue Oct. 20.

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