Around 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, the name change for a Detroit landmark became official.

For now on, Cobo Center will be known as TCF Center.

The occasion included an unveiling of the new name on the building, as well as a news conference with appearances from Mayor Mike Duggan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Detroit NAACP leader Wendell Anthony.

Donnell White, TCF Bank chief diversity officer and director of strategic partnerships, opened the conference by saying the merger between Chemical Bank and TCF became official Aug. 1, and that they will soon open a new headquarters in Detroit.

"It's incredible to be here today with the community, faith and business leaders from across our great city, region and state," he said.

Mayor Duggan said a name change for Cobo Center was "essential," as the man for which the building was named, Albert Cobo, was known for keeping blacks out white neighborhoods when he was mayor of Detroit during the 1950s.

He said that during TCF Executive Chairman Gary Torgow's first month in office, the mayor drove Torgow around Detroit. Duggan took him to the Marygrove neighborhood and said residents in the area needed mortgages. Torgow then began visiting residents as well as extending business loans to Detroiters.

"Today, the convention center turns a page," Duggan said. "For now on, this center will bear the name of an institution committed to rebuilding the city in a way that includes everybody."

The name change and the Chemical Bank-TCF Bank merger were announced earlier this year after Chemical purchased the naming rights last summer to the Cobo Convention Center for $1.5 million annually for 22 years — for a total of $33 million.

The newly revamped TCF Bank plans to open a new headquarters downtown by 2021 in a 20-story building at Woodward and Elizabeth. The merger created the nation's 27th largest bank with 526 branches across nine states.

Whitmer agreed that the TCF Center is adding to Detroit's renaissance and efforts to make the city more inclusive. She said that when national media was visiting the city last month for the Democratic presidential debates, people were saying how vibrant the city was.

"This a place just in the last month has hosted presidential candidates, the NAACP events, CEOs, businesses from around the world come to this building for a meeting, for an exposition, for an event, and this is why it's so important what is happening here today.

"TCF's leadership and dedication to this city, you can feel it, in the people who represent the organization, but also the commitment that they made here. And every one of us benefits from this partnership."

Stabenow shared some history from 1960, the year bubble wrap was invented, and when Cobo Hall opened in the city by hosting an auto show.

"A lot of things have changed since 1960, but one thing has not changed: this center continues to host events that bring people together in the heart of Detroit," she said.

Anthony closed the conference, saying a name is a reflection of a person's personality and actions.

"Names should reflect who you are, what you're thinking, how you behave," he said. "That's why there are naming ceremonies when a new child is born and the families come together to celebrate and bring joy and tribute to the house.

"Gary Torgow has been a leader in civil rights inside the city of Detroit. Gary Targow has walked in the neighborhoods and knocked on doors. And I'm now sure that TCF will continue to build solid communities and neighborhoods."