Once upon a time big business in America paid for both erecting and demolishing their own buildings. From Eric Peters at ericpetersautos.com:
Tesla uses the government to “help” people buy its devices – via the $7,500 tax kickback the government offers to people who buy Tesla’s devices. How about GM using the government to “help” pay for the renovation of its buildings?
The Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan has been GM’s corporate HQ for decades but GM has been moving out, piecemeal, over the past several years because GM has gotten smaller over the past several decades. GM wants to demolish at least two of the iconic towers and renovate one of the remaining ones for its own use – but only if GM doesn’t have to pay for it.
GM wants the taxpayers of Michigan – state and local – to pay for it.
To the tune of about $350 million. If not, GM hints it will have the whole complex demo’d and thereby leave Detroit in much the same position New York City found itself in after the similarly iconic World Trade Center Towers were demo’d by “evildoers” who – to their credit – didn’t have the effrontery to present a bill for their services to the city of New York.
According to The Detroit Free Press:
“GM confirmed in a statement . . that full demolition is a possible alternative to its proposal to partially demolish and renovate the complex, after it faced pushback from a chorus of lawmakers opposed to helping publicly fund a plan to tear down two towers and renovate three. That plan has also drawn critics from the architectural and preservation communities, who called it shortsighted and ill-conceived.”
