The RenCen was completed in 1977 at a cost of $250 million. Later the 2 additional Phase 2 towers cost an additional $70 million for a total price of $320 million.
It is correct that Henry Ford II armtwisted many corporations into participating in the project [[there were 51 corporations that were co-owners). It is also true that the 2.2 million square ft. of space that Phase I put on the market all at once in 1977 had a negative impact on the downtown real estate market for many years [[glut). Manufacturers Bank moved into much of Tower 400, and emptied out 411 W. Fort. When Comerica and Manufacturers merged, that empied out the 211 W. Fort tower with the combined company moving to Tower 400 of RenCen.
The one good thing that happened was that Ford moved nearly 2,000 employees downtown to Tower 200.
So there were something like 10,000 workers in the RenCen [[Phase 1).
Well then when GM bought the RenCen back in 1995, they gradually emptied out the existing 10,000 tenants of Phase 1, and moved their people into the complex. Ford took the 1,700 employees they still had in Tower 200 and moved them out to Dearborn. Some other tenants evicted by GM also exited to the suburbs.
So now with GM downsized... there are 5,000 GM employees in the complex.
Highgate Corp. bought the RenCen for $75 million in the mid 1990s from the original corporate partnership, and then flipped the property to GM right away for $78 million. GM then spent an additional $500 million on it to add the Wintergarten and other improvements.
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