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Hudson's Detroit
Mixed-use skyscraper development in Downtown Detroit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hudson's Detroit is a mixed-use building complex located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is located on the former site of the J.L. Hudson's Flagship Store, and consists of two buildings: a 49-story, 681-foot (208 m) skyscraper, with a hotel and condominiums,[3] and a 12-story,[4] 232-foot (71 m) building,[5][6] containing commercial offices, retail space, and a conference center.[4] The taller tower is the second-tallest building in Detroit as well as in Michigan,[1][7] and is the first skyscraper taller than 500 feet (150 m) to be built in Detroit in the 21st century. The shorter building was completed in 2025.[8]
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History
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Site
1208 Woodward Avenue is situated in Downtown Detroit, bounded by Grand River Avenue to the north, Farmer Street to the east, and Gratiot Avenue to the south. The entire block was once the home to Hudson's flagship store, which was built in phases between 1911 and 1946. It was the tallest department store in the world, at 440 ft (134 m), and the second largest department store by area in the world, behind Macy's Herald Square in New York City.[9]
The store closed in 1983, and was imploded in 1998, making it the tallest building to ever be demolished by controlled implosion.[10][11] In 2001, an underground parking garage was constructed at the site, designed to support a structure of up to 18 floors on top.[12][13]
Redevelopment planning
Rock Ventures gained the rights to develop the site in 2007; it was initially considered as a site for the headquarters of Quicken Loans.[11] In March 2013, after over a decade of little activity at the site, Dan Gilbert announced a competition seeking ideas for development of the site.[14][15] The contest received 200 submissions, and was won by two architects from Italy.[16] That November, Rock Ventures hired SHoP Architects to lead the design of the development, with Detroit-based Hamilton Anderson Associates serving as a local partner.[17]
An initial design of the planned building was leaked in March 2015.[18] Rock's real estate division, then known as Bedrock Detroit, purchased the city-owned parking garage in April 2016.[11]
When plans for the development were first revealed in February 2017, the taller tower was planned to rise 734 feet (224 m), narrowly surpassing the Renaissance Center as the tallest building in Detroit and in Michigan.[18] Its proposed height was expanded to 800 feet (240 m) in September 2017, and by 2018, Bedrock was publicly considering heightening the tower to 912 feet (278 m).[18] By 2019, plans were scaled back, shortening the tower and removing a proposed observation deck.[18][19] Its final height of roughly 680 feet (210 m) was announced in March 2020.[6][20]
Construction
Ground was broken on December 14, 2017.[21] Construction began with the removal of the underground parking garage that had been built in 2001. In March 2020, construction progress was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed after 45 days. In December of the same year, construction reached above the ground for the first time.[22]
Completion
The high-rise tower was topped out on April 10, 2024; two days later on April 12, the development's final name, Hudson's Detroit, was announced.[23] On April 15, General Motors announced that it would relocate its global headquarters from the Renaissance Center to the top two floors of the mid-rise tower;[24] in November, GM expanded its planned lease to four floors.[25]
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Design
The development was designed by SHoP Architects. It consists of two buildings, linked by a 700-space underground parking garage.[26]
Tenants
General Motors is expected to be the largest office tenant in the mid-rise building, with its global headquarters slated to occupy floors 8 through 11 beginning in January 2026.[25][27] GM will operate a vehicle showroom on the ground floor, and large signs with the company's logo will be placed on all four sides of the building.[24] It will also include the headquarters of Rock Holdings, the Gilbert Family Foundation,[28] and the Ven Johnson Law Firm, and offices of JPMorgan Chase and Accenture.[29] As of October 2025, all of the announced office tenants are relocating from other Detroit buildings.[28]
On April 17, 2024, Bedrock announced that the taller tower would consist of a five-star EDITION hotel and 97 luxury condominiums, to be completed by 2027.[30]
Gallery
Construction Progress
Elevator shafts of the 14 story block
Construction progress at Northwestern corner of site
Project barrier displaying nearby points of interest
Progress as of February 2023, from Madison and John R Streets
Progress as of August 2022
Progress as of April 2024
References
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