How would King Solomon feel about the Renaissance Center Renovations?

The long awaited Renaissance Center renovation appears to finally be moving forward. The initial news of this enormous undertaking was surprising to many because it includes the demolition of two towers closest to the Detroit River. It seems impossible to think of our ionic sky scrapper’s profile ever changing. It was assumed to be a permanently fixed symbol of Detroit, appearing on virtually every postcard or advertisement about our beloved city.

Now to be fair, three of the five original towers will remain, but the changes to both appearance and purpose will most likely be dramatic.

According to the Detroit Free Press this is the overall plan to redevelop the Renaissance Center located directly next door to our 184 year old church building:

• Demolishing the multistory concrete-heavy podium that connects the five original 1970s towers.

• Razing two of the five towers that are closest to the riverfront.

• Turning the 72-floor center tower — currently a roughly 1,300-room Marriott — into a mix of 858 hotel rooms and 200 apartments, with a new public observation deck at the very top.

• Converting the 39-floor Tower 100 from office space to apartments.

• Renovating the 39-floor Tower 200, but keeping it as office space.

• Creating a new riverfront park and public space — with a possible marina — on the roughly 30 acres of land outside and to the east of the complex. The development team is planning a series of public meetings to hear what Detroiters would like to see built there.

  (The Detroit Free Press, July 20, 2026)

This plan, to be started in 2027, will take years to complete. It is almost as ambitious as the initial project itself, built as the headquarters of Ford Motor Company.  Our beloved Bishop Ingalls gave the opening prayer at the ground breaking ceremony on May 22, 1973 alongside dignitaries such as Henry Ford II and the then Mayor of Detroit, Roman Gribbs.  In a city where world renowned architecture remains standing for over a century, I’m sure no one in attendance that day would think the impressive towers to be built would be subject to massive repurposing and partial demolition just 50 years later.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Scripture speaks to the temporary nature of man’s ambitions. The writer, King Solomon – considered the wisest and wealthiest man to ever live, categorically calls his accomplishments and worldly goods as ‘meaningless’, ‘futile’, or a ‘chasing after the wind.’  Whether it is pleasure, building projects, or wisdom itself, Solomon has accomplished it all and determined they are ultimately unfulfilling and temporary apart from God.

I thought of some of these scriptures as I read the ambitious Ren Cen redevelopment project. Ecclesiastes starts with:

The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.”

Ecclesiastes 1:1-5 NIV

Or perhaps even more specifically:

“I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards… I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me… I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure…My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”Ecclesiastes 2:4, 7, 10-11 NIV

But the book isn’t meant to be a hopeless commentary on life. Instead it boils life down to its essentials by concluding in the final passages:

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV

Solomon concludes that true meaning does not come from chasing temporary worldly success, projects, wisdom, and pleasure. He knows better than anyone the long term dissatisfaction of such things. Instead, He encourages us to accept life as a gift, to remember our Creator early in life (Ecc 12:1), and to fear God and keep His commandments (12:13).

When God is at the center and His will is preeminent, life regains its purpose and meaning. Towers crumble, businesses close, and wealth is spent and lost. Not to put too fine of a point, but all of us will eventually return to dust.

However, Scripture tells us there is joy and meaning in life when it is found in God himself. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is God’s definitive commentary on the value of life. Our life is priceless, not because of what we accomplish, build, and achieve, but because we can be in relationship with the One who created it all…for eternity.

Rest in Him and His eternal salvation. As we watch the tearing down and rebuilding of the Renn Cen over the next several years, see this as a visual demonstration of where true purpose and meaning are found:

“Christ is you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27)

Blessings and peace,

Rev. Todd