Late last month, we learned that the 500 and 600 towers of the Renaissance Center sold to Friedman Real Estate. Now, we know how much they paid for the downtown office buildings.
Crain's was first to report that the towers sold for $15 million. In addition, Friedman is paying up to $15 million to retain Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan as tenants in the 500 River East Tower and move some over from the 600 River East Tower. Each tower is 21 stories tall and 336,000 square feet.
The 600 River East Tower is being marketed for lease through Friedman.
Overall, it's a fairly low purchase price per square foot for office buildings of this size, but not quite the bargain basement prices of downtown Detroit skyscrapers 10 years ago. Like most metropolitan areas, the return to office has been slow since the pandemic, and many owners are looking at other ways to use their empty office space.
The 500 and 600 towers are located east of the main towers of the RenCen. The main towers are run by General Motors, whose global headquarters are located there. The central tower is home to the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.
