Friedman Real Estate in Farmington Hills has acquired the 500 and 600 towers of the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit from Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. in New Jersey. Terms of the transaction were not released.
The sale, which was finalized last week, was confirmed by Jared Friedman, executive managing director of acquisitions and business development for the Friedman Real Estate, according to several area news outlets. General Motors Co. owns the main Ren Cen complex.
“Since the construction of 500 and 600 River East Towers, it has been the chosen home for prominent corporate tenants,” said David Friedman, co-founder, president and CEO of Friedman Real Estate, in a statement. “We are excited to present a significant and rare opportunity to the market for a corporation to make 600 River East Tower a space of their own.”
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has been a tenant of 500 River East Tower since 2011 and signed a long-term lease with Friedman following the purchase.
“The new lease arrangement extends our lease as the sole tenant for 500 River East Tower, which is the base for several major Blue Cross divisions,” says Sandy Alston-Childs, vice president of corporate services at Blue Cross, in a statement. “It reflects our unwavering commitment to downtown Detroit, where we have been a member of the business community for more than 80 years.”
Friedman says it expects to lease the 330,000 square feet of space available in the 600 tower.
