General Motors is threatening to demolish all five towers at Detroit’s Renaissance Center if it can’t secure $250 million from taxpayers to remodel three, prompting allegations of extortion.

“It’s not uncommon that big corporations, when they want to do large-scale projects, present things in an either-or fashion to shape the debate in the direction they would like,” University of Michigan architecture professor Craig Wilkins told the Detroit Free Press. “The idea of ‘if you don’t go with this, then we’ll just tear it all down’ seems like extortion to me, and I don’t think the public should allow itself to be extorted.”

Renaissance Center co-owners GM and billionaire Dan Gilbert last week presented plans for a $1.6 billion renovation that calls for $250 million from Michigan taxpayers to tear down two of five towers and renovate three.

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The intent is to “right-size” the 5.5 million square foot complex with declining demand for office space in downtown Detroit, and to convert some of the remaining towers to housing.

The plan would create “signature public spaces” along the riverfront while better connecting the facility to the downtown area, according to Bedrock Detroit, Gilbert’s development company.

The $250 million ask from taxpayers prompted immediate backlash from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, with House Speaker-elect Matt Hall, R-Richland Twp., sounding off in a Monday press conference.

“GM is way up there, billions of dollars in profit, but they want $250 million from us to tear down the Renaissance center as they’ve left Detroit and just laid off 1,000 people in Warren,” Hall said.

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“Does GM need it more, or does your local county need it more?” he questioned. “That’s the question we have to make and answer to very soon.”

“Dan Gilbert has a net worth of $25b. Someone making $50,000 a year would have to work for 500,000 years (saving every penny) to amass that fortune,” state Rep. Dylan Wegela, D-Garden City, posted to X. “GM is making record profits. Yet they have the nerve to ask for a $250 million handout.”

GM responded to those initial reactions with a threat to foot the bill to scrap the whole site if lawmakers refuse to cooperate with the plans.

“Our desire is to preserve the iconic skyline that is synonymous with Detroit by funding the overwhelming majority of the project in partnership with Bedrock – but all options remain on the table,” GM spokesman Keven Kelly said in a statement cited by the Free Press. “If it ultimately comes to demolition, General Motors is willing (to) cover the cost, so the site doesn’t fall into disrepair.”

GM has until April to decide with Bedrock on how to move forward. Plans unveiled last week call for GM to contribute $250 million toward the project, while Bedrock would fund $1 billion.

Michigan’s second largest company, meanwhile, is moving its headquarters from the nearly 50-year-old Renaissance Center to Bedrock Detroit’s new Hudson’s Detroit Tower several blocks north.

The Hudson’s development was funded in part by significant public investment on a promise it would attract jobs and tax revenues for Detroit, though GM is the only announced tenant for the development’s office space, according to the Free Press.

Wilkins told the news site he’s not a fan of either option for the Renaissance Center – renovation or total demolition, noting a lack of public feedback on the proposal.

“We shouldn’t settle for one or two public entities being able to determine our public life based on what is good for their bottom line,” he said. “Why should we have to settle for ‘something’ when we can have the best?”

Others, including architect Michael Poris, a Detroit preservation advocate, pointed to the city’s poor track record with demolitions.

“With the history of demolition in Detroit over the last 70 years, this conversation should be put to bed,” Poris said.

Detroit has displaced Black residents in the Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods to construct I-375, replaced historic buildings with parking lots, and is currently clearing residents from multiple neighborhoods with plans to demolish homes to build solar farms.

“We haven’t even healed all the problems that came from demolishing things,” Poris told the Free Press, “so the idea of continuing all that now is absurd.”

Despite the widespread criticisms, city leaders strongly support the Renaissance Center renovation plans, with Mayor Mike Duggan suggesting “we will need a public/private partnership to get this done.”

Duggan’s support suggests the city could help fund part of the project, and Bedrock CEO Kofi Bonner noted last week the company is seeking $100 million in financial support from Detroit’s Downtown Development Authority.

GM told the Free Press the automaker is also exploring other funding options, though it did not divulge details. The news site notes the site could seek a historic designation that could come with federal tax credits.

While the plan appears to face an uphill as its shopped to lawmakers in the coming weeks, it has plenty of supporters in Detroit, where City Council President Mary Sheffield told the Free Press she’s “looking forward to further exploring a potential public-private partnership.”

Sheffield, who is expected to run to replace Duggan next year, celebrated the proposal as “a rare and clear bath for growth” and a “transformation most cities could only dream of,” the news site reports.