our history

The Insight building has a colorful history from its inception in the early 1920s as Durant Motors headquarters, producing the “Flint” car. William “Billy” Durant, the co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet, had his office in the building during that era. GM purchased the Fisher Body Plant in the 1930s. This is also the site of the famous 1936-1937 GM sit-down strike that led to the unionization of the United States automobile industry.

Over the years, the plant employed thousands of workers, manufacturing millions of automobiles. During World War II, the plant was retooled and became a vital part of the war effort as three shifts a day turned out weapons from guns and turrets to Sherman Tanks.

The demand for modernization and effects of age took its toll as GM shut down the plant in 1987, ushering an end to an era in the automotive industry.

But the story does not end there.

General Motors demolition began on the Fisher One building, and approximately 2.2 million square feet of the old plant came down, leaving 1.2 million square feet to be renovated into a state-of-the-art campus-like building. The goal of the Great Lakes Technology Center was to create a premier Engineering and Development Center, and the center was given the prestigious BOMA Award for Office Building of the Year in 2001 – 2002.

GM initially had substantial offices, including AC Rochester’s world headquarters, but after the bankruptcy closed the doors permanently.

Today, the Insight building is an ever-expanding biomedical technology campus. Far ahead of its time when it was built, the facility is still adaptable to suit tenants’ needs.