Bedrock, a full-service real estate firm operating in Detroit and Cleveland, has revealed for the first time a look at the planned midrise office space, destination retail, event spaces, public rooftop amenities, and an activated public plaza at the site of the former Hudson’s department store at 1208 Woodward Ave.
Now under construction, the midrise building located at the north end of the Hudson’s site (just south of the Shinola Hotel) was topped out at 220 feet in April.
Structural work on a neighboring tower, located at the south end of the Hudson’s site, continues on its way to reaching 685 feet in height next year. When completed, the tower will be the second tallest building in Detroit and the state of Michigan (after the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center).
While today’s announcement centers on the midrise building, the hi-rise is expected to offer mostly residential space complemented by office, retail, and restaurant offerings.
“The significance of this development goes beyond its unique and distinctive physical presence. Once complete, along with impressive views, the project will bring premier office, residential, hotel and event spaces with carefully curated dining and entertainment experiences,” says Kofi Bonner, CEO of Bedrock.
“But more importantly, the project will anchor the transformation of the historic Woodward corridor and exemplifies the resurgence of Detroit. The reinvigoration of Detroit’s most centrally located site will become a must-see location and will generate fond memories for Detroiters and visitors for generations to come.”
The overall project is expected to drive economic development by creating an estimated 2,000 permanent and full-time jobs upon completion, bringing new business to the city and activating what was once a primarily vacant lot. The landmark destination will have created 7,500 construction jobs upon completion and will generate substantial direct income tax and business activity revenue for the city.
Bedrock says the mixed-use development will incorporate public spaces throughout, providing new places to relax, dine, entertain, and shop.
The second and third floors of the midrise office building have been designed to incorporate a 126,000-gross-square-foot events and meeting venue featuring a wide range of modern amenities. The space will host events ranging from 50 to 2,500 people.
The major event space on Woodard Avenue will be close to Campus Martius, placing event attendees within walking distance of the numerous local businesses in the central business district.
Those existing businesses will also be joined by new ground floor retail and experience spaces along Woodward and Grand River avenues, which Bedrock says will enhance the allure and excitement of the pedestrian experience along the historic Woodward Avenue shopping corridor.
The development will feature an activated through-cut plaza in the space between the office building and tower of the development, in line with Bedrock’s commitment to activating public spaces such as Parker’s Alley and the Belt. The space will provide additional retail and exhibition frontage complemented by public art and year-round programming. The project will also feature unique rooftop food and beverage amenities, providing one-of-a-kind views of the city skyline.
New-York based SHoP Architects and Detroit-based Hamilton Anderson worked in tandem with Bedrock to ensure the project offered dynamic public spaces and an activated streetscape on all sides of the development.
The midrise will offer more than 400,000-gross-square-feet of office space with large flexible floor plates and floor-to-ceiling windows, providing an abundance of natural light and exceptional views of the city.
Pophouse, a Detroit-based commercial interior design studio, is designing the office space common areas to appeal to tech-forward companies.
“The future of industry is one of ingenuity and creativity,” says Anna Okerhjelm, studio director at Pophouse. “We set out to create a design narrative for the development on the site of the former Hudson’s department store that embraces the soul of opportunity in Detroit and complements the rich fabric of the city to inspire and propel growth. Our team is proud to play a role in bringing to life this shared vision of a world-class urban campus, which will function as an incubator for innovation and progress moving forward.”
Bedrock expects the world-class office building to help to attract national tenants that complement the growing community of businesses in Detroit’s downtown innovation district, including DT Midstream, Coyote Logistics, IBM, Microsoft, Rocket Mortgage, LinkedIn, StockX, Universal McCann, UBS, Ally Bank’s national headquarters, and Fifth Third Bank’s regional headquarters.
Office leasing for the office building is underway.
Construction on the development has been ongoing since Bedrock broke ground in 2017. Overall, 130-foot caissons were drilled to support the buildings’ foundation, and in total more than 10,200 tons of steel and 11,600 beams were used to create structural support.
Since March 2021, the building has been steadily increasing in height, with the office building “topping out” at 220 feet in April 2022. Structural work on the Tower continues and will reach its final height of 685 feet in 2023, becoming the second tallest building in Detroit and the state of Michigan.
The development is expected to be completed in 2024.
View the full gallery of renderings below:
