Detroit, Michigan, USA
“For long-time Detroiters, we remember what Hudson’s represented. It wasn’t just a department store—it was the economic engine of Detroit. It drew residents and visitors downtown, where they spent a day shopping at Hudson’s and visiting the retail, restaurants, and theaters around it,” says Dan Gilbert, founder, and chairman of Rock Ventures and Quicken Loans and founding partner of Bedrock.
“Our goal is to create a development that exceeds the economic and experiential impact even Hudson’s had on the city. We believe this project is so unique that it can help put Detroit back on the national—and even global—map for world-class architecture, talent attraction, technology innovation and job creation.”
SHoP Architects’ plans for the new, 52-story, 734-foot transformational development for Bedrock will make Hudson’s Site the tallest building in the city and an experiential destination focusing on technology, arts, and culture will be among the amenities for residents and visitors alike.
Designed with architects Hamilton Anderson Associates, the new nine-story podium and residential tower that rises from the podium will total 1.2 million gross square feet and will offer 700 parking spaces underneath the structure.
The development, located on the former site of the now demolished iconic Chicago Prairie School J. L. Hudson’s Department Store by Smith, Hinchman, & Grylls (1911) will be among the largest construction projects in Detroit in decades and will anchor Woodward Avenue making it the economic engine of the city once again.
Transformational developments, like Hudson’s, often serve as catalysts for an entire city and region.
They attract visitors; create thousands of jobs; are magnets for talent, business and investment; and create a positive ripple effect on the area around them resulting in significant economic impact for the city and its residents.
“In its heyday, Hudson’s was a premier destination in the heart of downtown,” says Sandra Laux, Project Architect, Hamilton Anderson Associates.
“After the flagship store closed in 1983, the structure would bring back fond memories of a vibrant downtown.”
“We now have the opportunity to be a part of creating unique, new architecture in one of the few vacant sites downtown.”
The proposed 52-story building is estimated to include: 250 residential units totaling 441,500 gross square feet; a nine-story podium comprised of 733,823 gross square feet of mixed use, commercial, office, technology, and arts and culture space; and three stories below grade featuring additional commercial space on one level with 700 parking spaces on the other two levels
“The driving force behind our design for the Hudson’s site is to create a building that speaks to the rebirth of optimism in the city’s future and an experiential destination that positively impacts Detroit in a meaningful way,” said William Sharples, Principal, SHoP.
“The building is conceived around a huge and inspiring new public space, a year-round civic square that, both in its architecture and its culture, will foster and convey the feeling we all share when we work together to imagine what this great city can become.”
Project: Hudson’s Site
Architects: SHoP Architects
Architects of Record: Hamilton Anderson Associates
Client: Bedrock Management Service LLC
