Detroit's Renaissance Center Loses a Longtime Resident

Urban Science, a data-mapping company, is saying goodbye to its longtime home in Detroit's Renaissance Center. After nearly 50 years, they're moving to a new spot called One Campus Martius. This news comes after General Motors, who owns the building, started talking about future plans for the space. The Renaissance Center, built in 1980 and renovated last year, is mostly empty right now, with only 11% occupancy. It's zoned for offices, homes, hotels, and shops, but making changes to the building is expensive. Rebecca Gualdoni, the chief human resources officer of Urban Science, mentioned that some of their space might be repurposed, which is why they decided to move. Detroit is getting a new mayor, and the top two candidates had something to say about this move. Mary Sheffield, the current City Council President, thinks the Renaissance Center is becoming outdated and hopes the city can find a way to repurpose it. Rev. Solomon Kinloch wants more public input since the building is privately owned but might use public money. General Motors and Bedrock have plans to tear down two of the Renaissance Center's towers to create more public space. They want to turn the area into something like Chicago's Navy Pier. Urban Science's new space is set to start construction later this year.