I'm picturing Joe Pesci in "The Super"

Im thinking of Schnider on "too close for comfort", or am I dating myself?

Sorry, "one day at a time" idiot.

Maybe two towers will be used as a bed & breakfast type of thing. I hear Lutz makes some really good blueberry pancakes and his quiche is pretty much legendary in serious automotive circles.

Let's see. Out-of-date. Bloated. Inefficient. Garish. Skewed toward a shrinking market. By golly, it IS the perfect move for GM.

Don't you mean decrease its overhead?

Nevermind, it's GM. The way they operate, increase is probably the right word.

They'll probably mow it down and put up a Dealership.

Maximum Bob Pancakes now at IHOP

Since they're leasing the space at top-of-the-market rates, this might actually net them a cost savings.

Usually GM SELLS buildings when the market is in the crapper (the GM building in NYC for example).

I herd the Lutz breakfast special is actually a shot of whisky and a kick on the nards.

yes...nards

and in other news OCP agreed to terms with the city of Detroit to manage the cities police force ...

Mr. Furley from 'Three's Company'

@zacarious: That would be better than when LAPD tried out their Citizens On Patrol (or C.O.P.) program

@acarr260: Don't forget his brunch specialty, the Global Warming Crock-Pot of Sh*t. It's really more of a queso dip, but it's to die for.

@OrangeBoss9: I'm ot sure that logic would hold. What's the BATNA for the prior owner - nobody else is going in there for more than a few bucks per sqft.

Weird transaction for a company that's debt is trading at 10%+ yields.

Daga, is that bad?

@Daga: If I owned that building and GM said "sell it to us or we'll move out," I'd do everything in my power to sell it to them. Woof.

Owning your own building is a positive in the (very) long term, huge negative in the short term.

Hopefully most of the country is in a cyclical real estate downturn that it will come back out of, but I'm not so sure about Detroit, I think it might be down for the count.

If the assumptions that make one's real estate investment profitable include New York being nuked, California falling into the ocean, Chicago being flattened by a tornado and Windsor prostitutes lowering their prices to $10 then maybe the real estate shouldn't be purchased.

I guess GM wants to go out with a bang. I say they blow the rest of the cash reserves on scratch off lottery tickets.

I stayed in the Marriott there once. The Ren Center is very much a product of the 70s idea that one could build a shiny tower and it would somehow reinvigorate the city. Instead, it feels isolated and filled with unrealized dreams.

On the plus side it's so empty downtown that while I was there I smoked a j on the street, peed in the river, and yelled at Canada.

Know who else has their regional HQ in the RenCen?

Toyota P.R.

Betcha GM walks in on Monday, points to the door, and says "Gets to steppin'!"

Yeah, that's right... GM bought the building so they could have the satisfaction of kicking Toyota outta SOMETHING, dammit...

Rick: "Well Bob, we let you have a go at revitalizing our product lineup, and you managed to launch the awesomest, most gigantic trucks in our history at a time when gas hit $4.

Oh, and basically redid our 1971 lineup. You know, the one that started our downfall the last time gas made a huge jump.

So, since we are officially screwed, we might as well start looking at a backup plan."

Bob: "Why you young... Outta my yard... Tiger in the tank... uphill... Not your father's... Viper... I OWN A JET!"

Rick: "Insightful as always, Bob. Looks like I'll have to use my SUPER CEO SKILLZ to get us out of this one... Picking up my copy of the WSJ from Dec. 2004. Hmm... Real estate looks hot. Money is cheap... Banks are giving loans to Ninjas? Didn't think that paid all that well... Oh well, other people are never wrong. So, using my SUPER CEO SKILL of DECISION MAKING, I will now reorganize GM as a REAL ESTATE COMPANY. It worked for The Donald. He's even got a TV show!... Now, didn't we have a mortgage company around here somewhere?"

Given that the building was first owned by Ford, and didn't work out for them, and is now owned by GM... it's a matter of time before Chrysler gets their chance at the building.

What!? I only missed the bid by $1?!

Damned Ebay

Are they still waiting for Detroit's "renaissance" to come, or was this always intended as an ironic name?

@drewdrawsPooh: Are they still waiting for Detroit's "renaissance" to come

GM skipped the Renaissance and went straight to "flat Baroque"

who knew the renaissance was so expensive?

I read the story, but it didn't sound right. Multiple sources say that GM bought the RenCen for $73 million in 1996. For starters...
[info.detnews.com]
[query.nytimes.com]

It's actually nicer now than it was 30 years ago. GM has put some money into it to make it the building it was meant to be. The glass atrium facing the river is a nice touch. It's still difficult for the first time visitor to navigate. If you ever find yourself in the Rivercafe Bar at the RenCen, and are thirsty for a beer and a shot, you might want to think twice. It'll set you back $15.

Its actually 7 towers... cause 2 smaller ones are on the side and house all the EDS people that take care of GM's computer stuff.

Actually, I thought Ford still owned the parking garages?