Opening planned for late fall

To feature "much larger" bar, more flexible space

To appeal to casual and fine diners

General Motors Co. has signed a new tenant for the 71st and 72nd floors of the Renaissance Center, formerly home to the Coach Insignia restaurant.

James Beard Award-winning chef Shawn McClain is planning to open a new restaurant and bar in the iconic downtown Detroit skyscraper to create a "culinary destination" appealing to both fine and casual diners.

"It'll be very unlike what it has been before," McClain said. "The reinvention aspect is hugely important. We definitely don't want to be a one-trick pony."

The restaurant will encompass about 23,000 square feet and include a "much larger" bar than before, as well as flexible space for a range of events, said Claudia Killeen, manager of Renaissance Development for General Motors.

Killeen said a search for a new tenant began shortly after Coach Insignia closed last January. It opened in 2004, replacing The Summit, the original restaurant that featured a revolving floor.

Killeen and her team narrowed a list of 25 potential restaurateurs across the nation before a meeting with McClain at one of his restaurants in Las Vegas all but sealed their decision.

"It was so beautiful and comfortable that we didn't want to leave," she said.