BY DANIEL G. FRICKER, FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER September
14, 2000
General Motors Corp. has hired Taubman Centers Inc. to fill
the retail space at the Renaissance Center and Millender Center with stores and
restaurants it hopes will rejuvenate downtown Detroit.
The automaker is looking for a mix of eateries and shops
that will appeal to the 25,000 people who work in and around the RenCen as well
as millions of annual visitors, said Matt Cullen, general manager of GM's
Enterprise Activities Group.
Taubman operates and manages 28 shopping malls in 12 states
including Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills and Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi.
The company plans to open four more malls next year. To select the stores and
restaurants, Taubman will study customer demographics and survey focus groups,
said Bob Taubman, the company's president and chief executive officer.
The goals are to match the stores and restaurants with
customers' personalities, attract more customers and make it easier for customers
to shop, Taubman said. GM purchased the
RenCen in 1996 and is spending $500 million to transform the complex into its headquarters. Taubman would like to extend the stores and restaurants
at the RenCen by opening similar ones at the street level of River East
buildings, the development GM plans for east of its headquarters, Taubman said.
See Taubman to fill
shops at RenCen