RenCen overhaul would open up street level

Catch up quick: GM and Bedrock's $1.6 billion-plus RenCen redevelopment would preserve and remake three of the five original towers while removing the two closest to the Detroit River.

• One tower would be converted into about 380 apartments, while the central tower would retain 858 hotel rooms and add 200 apartments. Another tower would remain offices.
• New retail, restaurants and entertainment would face outward toward the waterfront.

Zoom out: The plans extend east across more than 35 acres along the east riverfront, now dominated by parking lots and underused property.

• All told, the broader plans call for more than 900 new housing units, along with public spaces, restaurants, shops, entertainment and water-based activities, although many details remain conceptual and are being shaped through public engagement.

What we're watching: The size and structure of the project's requested public incentives remain a major question.

What's next: The second public community benefits meeting is Sept. 1, when residents in the project's designated impact area will elect two members of the nine-person Neighborhood Advisory Council.

• The project's public financing will come into sharper focus Sept. 15, when city officials say the proposed tax incentives will be presented in detail.