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Months after we first looked at plans now underway to redevelop the former Hudson's Site in downtown Detroit into what will become the tallest structure in the city, a slate of new renderings and additional information about the project have come forward from developers Bedrock and Rock Ventures displaying the design from NYC-based SHoP Architects and Detroit-based Hamilton Anderson Associates, who will be working together on the project.
With construction set to take place between December 1, 2017, and December 1, 2020, the three-year project will eventually produce a project that will not only be the tallest structure in Detroit, but in the state of Michigan. The 52-storey, 734-foot tower and shopping centre will become a major player in the ongoing Detroit renaissance that has been underway for the better part of the last decade.
Situated along a prime stretch of Woodward Avenue on the future route of the soon-to-open QLine LRT, the Hudson's Site redevelopment will rejuvenate a key segment of Detroit's historic main shopping district. The former J. L. Hudson's Department Store (1911-1998) was once the epitome of luxury retail in the city during Detroit's Golden Age. It was imploded in 1998 after a decade of disuse, and the vacancy left by the former retail giant will once again be filled after more than 20 years.
To be comprised of 1.2 million square feet, the 52-storey tower will rise from atop a nine-storey podium that will front onto Woodward Avenue. The tower will become home to 250 residential units, while the podium will accommodate a mixture of commercial, office, technology, and arts and culture spaces. The entire development will rest upon three storeys of underground parking with space for 700 cars, thus eschewing the need for the kind of sprawling surface lot that the city is currently trying to replace with development.
Inside as out, the design will be visually striking, with an avant-garde streetwall that is equally as bold from within as without. Blanketed by a multi-coloured canopy of glass, the main atrium and shopping level of the site will be a welcoming space for shoppers and passersby, with plenty of natural light, making for an airy, almost otherworldly experience.
Once complete, the Hudson's Site redevelopment, paired with the completion of the QLine and a host of other projects slated for completion along Woodward Avenue over the next few years, will culminate in a successful return of activity to the core that has not been seen in decades. The economic ravages that have torn through the city's urban fabric since the city's heyday, are finally beginning to heal.
SkyriseCities will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.
