The $30 million renovation project that kicked off earlier this year at the 1,329-room Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center is moving forward with a complex makeover of the hotel’s meeting space. This is the last phase of the year-long remodeling process and will encompass 100,000 square feet of space spanning three floors and 34 separate meeting rooms.
“We’re very excited to begin this next big step of a $30 million renovation that is an investment in the City of Detroit, as well as an investment in this Michigan landmark hotel,” said Shonda Johnson, area general manager of the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. “Our modernized, beautiful and more flexible meeting space will help draw more visitors and milestone events to our amazing city,” she added.
Estimated to be completed in December, this chapter in Marriott RenCen’s renovation will also be done in phases, enabling group functions to continue without disruption, and will focus on enhancing the conference spaces’ functionality and aesthetics, the hotel’s officials announced. Also included in this phase is the two-level concierge lounge located on the 56th and 57th floors which will be refurbished and reconfigured to resemble an automobile showroom.
Nicknamed Marriott RenCen, the 71-story hotel in Downtown Detroit is the tallest building in the city and the tallest all-hotel skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. The landmark hotel was completed in 1977 and stands as the central tower in a group of seven interconnected skyscrapers known as The Renaissance Center. The Class A office complex was built for the Henry Ford Motor Company by New York-based Tishman Construction under plans designed by John Portman & Associates.
In 1996 the 5.5 million-square-foot mega-property was purchased by General Motors to serve as the company’s global headquarters. The 14-acre, Class A office center is one of the largest commercial complexes in the world. A veritable “city within a city,” it includes a shopping center, restaurants, banks, private clubs and a movie theater and even has its own zip code, 48243—housing more than 5,000 GM workers and 4,000 center tenant employees.
