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Renaissance Center
FORD TO REDEVELOP DOWNTOWN DETROIT
[[image: photo of Henry Ford II]]
[[caption]] Henry Ford  [[/caption]]

[[image: architectural rendition of proposed downtown redevelopment area, superimposed on a hand-drawn map of the area, with labels for Woodward Street, the Henry and Edsel Ford Auditorium, and the Detroit River]]
[[caption]] Riverfront Site [[/caption]]

Preliminary details of a proposed 28-acre development along the Detroit River in downtown Detroit were presented to the Detroit Common Council today (November 24) by Henry Ford II, chairman of the board of Ford Motor Company.

Mr. Ford disclosed that a company called Detroit Downtown Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Ford Motor Land Development Corporation, has been formed to get the project under way. He added that other Detroit industrial and business firms and interested individuals would be invited to participate in the program.

Mr. Ford also announced that John Portman, a noted Atlanta architect, had been commissioned to design a master plan for the proposed development, which generally would be bounded by the Detroit River and the south, Jefferson Avenue on the north, the Henry and Edsel Ford Auditorium on the west and St. Antoine Street on the east.

"It is hoped that on that land there will be built a new complex - office buildings, a major hotel, apartments, some retail stores and other related services and recreational facilities," Mr. Ford said.

"What we are talking about here is a building program that will cost in the neighborhood of $400- to $500-million and will be scheduled in several stages..." he explained.

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