Official Development Rumors at Hudson's Site Thread

**stasu1213** · October-01-11, 06:19 AM

A temporary tent that is 4 stories high could be constructed on that site heaters installed in it. Something creative could be done to cover or decorate the beams that are sticking up out of the ground. Events could be held in the temporary tent or structure that would coincide with events that are going on downtown. Auto show related events could go on inside the structure during to Auto Show for an example. The structure could also be used for vendors such as the ones at the eastern market to sell vegetables, fruit, etc. Maybe music could be played in the structure on Tuesdays during lunchtime such as music as played at Campus Martius in the summertime. Keep in mind, this could be just temporary until a permanent plan come up on what to do with the spot

**DetroitPlanner** · October-01-11, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by TheEnergizer

Agreed. If I see another parking structure I'm going to shoot myself!

I much prefer the vacant lot turned into parking lot. Very Texas-like... http://www.city-data.com/forum/city-...ouston-12.html

**Dexlin** · October-01-11, 09:47 PM

I'm surprised no one remembers Compuware announcing just a few months ago that, like the Lafayette lot, this will become the site of an urban garden.

DetroitPole · October-01-11, 11:13 PM

I think it would be a great site for a Hudson's building. It would be cool if there was a Lafayette building where that weird manufactured corporate growth lot is, too.
I hear the old Tiger Stadium site is "not zoned for baseball" according to a recent statement from the city. It would be great if they could zone it for baseball and maybe someone like, oh, I don't know, Chevrolet would fix it up for baseball where the residents could play. Right now it's just fenced and full of garbage.
But who am I?

**Dexlin** · October-02-11, 12:01 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPole

I think it would be a great site for a Hudson's building. It would be cool if there was a Lafayette building where that weird manufactured corporate growth lot is, too.

It'd be nice if you had the money to build this, or had money to maintain the former buildings on the site. It'd be great if I had my own personal rocket to fly to the moon, too. Yeah, who are you, indeed?

**Vitalis** · October-24-11, 08:21 PM

It is understood by the publishing community of Southeastern Michigan that Cengage Learning Inc. will purchase and develop the Hudson's site as a digital/eLearning campus for its now far-flung publishing companies, ranging from The Gale Group [[originally located in the Penobscot Building, and now situated in Farmington Hills at 12 Mile Rd. and Drake Rd., to the many textbook companies now located in the current HQ in Mason, Ohio. This digital education company should be a welcomed addition to the notion of a "Webward" corridor.

Ah, if only it would happen!

**1953** · October-25-11, 09:45 AM

I'm with DetroitPole. I think we should organize a new Hudson's corporation and build its headquarters and retail store on the site at Woodward between Gratiot and Grand River.

**daniel_duggan** · October-25-11, 12:06 PM

FYI, the Quicken folks are going public on the idea of a residential/retail project on the site.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...velopment-near

**Gistok** · October-25-11, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by lingramid

Yes - both the United Artists which was in perfectly usable shape, and the other smaller Roosevelt Theatre [[directly across from the main entrance of Marshall Field's). Both are sickening to think they are gone, those theatres would be in use by now as Broadway houses just like the Palace and Oriental and the other storefronts would have been redeveloped as retail - without tearing anything down and putting an awful mall there which is 80% vacant.

Lingramid... the ghost of C. Howard Crane casting his displeasure on Chicago... his 2 major Chicago commission were both pounded to rubble for that abomination.... the Roosevelt theatre was a smaller early [[1917) prototype for the Detroit Capitol Theatre [[1922, now the Detroit Opera Hosue)...

The Energizer... I wouldn't worry about a parking structure on the Hudson's site... they alread have one there... the 1,500 seat 4 level underground parking structure. It's custom built for a building[[s) to be built on top.

**1953** · October-25-11, 02:59 PM

God, I hope they build big!

**bailey** · October-25-11, 03:16 PM

Originally Posted by daniel_duggan

FYI, the Quicken folks are going public on the idea of a residential/retail project on the site.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...velopment-near

*but only if they get 15 years of NEZ extensions.

**sycloneman** · October-25-11, 03:39 PM

Without going back through all the threads...was the underground deck built after the demolition of the old Hudsons? How long after it was demolished? Who decided what kind of beams to put in to dictate what kind of building could possibly be built in the future?

**Detroitnerd** · October-25-11, 03:44 PM

I heard that George Jackson inked a deal this morning for the redevelopment. In the middle of the girder park, they're building a Tubby Sub Shop.

**animatedmartian** · October-25-11, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by sycloneman

Without going back through all the threads...was the underground deck built after the demolition of the old Hudsons? How long after it was demolished? Who decided what kind of beams to put in to dictate what kind of building could possibly be built in the future?

Without going back into the old threads, yes, I think immediately afterwards, and I don't know about the last part.

**mikeg19** · October-25-11, 08:48 PM

Looking back through a gallery on the Detroit News site, it's disappointing that I wasn't alive when Hudsons was a vibrant store downtown. I didn't quite even understand the gravity of the building demolition in 98' considering I was 12 years old lol. The pictures got me thinking though. Is something that size a relevant option to development on that site, or is it most likely going to be a cluster of smaller buildings on the property? Also, a bit off topic, the street cars in the pictures. Were the rails ripped out or just paved over when the system was disbanded?

**Gistok** · October-25-11, 09:13 PM

I may be wrong here, but I thought that when they imploded the Hudson's Building, they left the walls of the buildings 4 sub-basements, and built the 4 level underground parking deck within that Hudson's foundation.

**gthomas** · October-25-11, 10:35 PM

Originally Posted by 1953

God, I hope they build big!

I agree! Atleast 30-stories. With pretty cool retail, local and national. We need new residential development happening in the core of Downtown Detroit. Retail will for sure follow..

**Dexlin** · October-26-11, 12:37 AM

I don't get the request for an NEZ extension when the current one runs all the way to 2017. What that says to me is that they don't expect to do squat on the site within the next 5 year. Extending this is a disincentive to develop the site sooner rather than later, not an incentive.

We've seen this show before, guys. You trot out a nebulous proposal -- and this one is particularly vague -- to try to justify squatting into the future. I appreciate what Gilbert is doing around downtown, generally, but if he doesn't think he can come up with a plan for that site in another five years, than I don't know what to say besides "sh%t or get off the pot." It'd be different if we were in 2016 and he was asking for this, and able to display that he'd work diligently at making this site work, but he's doing this way too prematurely.

**wolverine** · October-26-11, 12:48 AM

Contrary to what some have said, the site can actually support a full block building on the existing column stubs. Some have said the loading is different in places. Actually the confusion is where they accounted for a control joint if the building were to be large. You'll notice a spot where the columns are doubled up. So basically they'd have to design around that technicality where the column grid gets weird.

**Gistok** · October-26-11, 01:41 AM

Originally Posted by Dexlin

I don't get the request for an NEZ extension when the current one runs all the way to 2017. What that says to me is that they don't expect to do squat on the site within the next 5 year. Extending this is a disincentive to develop the site sooner rather than later, not an incentive.

We've seen this show before, guys. You trot out a nebulous proposal -- and this one is particularly vague -- to try to justify squatting into the future. I appreciate what Gilbert is doing around downtown, generally, but if he doesn't think he can come up with a plan for that site in another five years, than I don't know what to say besides "sh%t or get off the pot." It'd be different if we were in 2016 and he was asking for this, and able to display that he'd work diligently at making this site work, but he's doing this way too prematurely.

To bring you up to speed on how a NEZ works... there is a 15 year clock that starts ticking once an area has been designated a NEZ area. If the end date for the NEZ on the Hudson block is 2017... then the original designation for the NEZ was back in 2002.

So all Gilbert is asking for is to have the clock reset to ZERO, so that instead of getting only 6 years "bang for the buck" of tax abatements... he wants the full 15 years for that property.

Unreasonable?? I hardly think so. Gilbert is smarter than many of us here give him credit for.... after all Real Estate is how he made his millions.

**Dexlin** · October-26-11, 02:27 AM

What I think you may be saying is that this is actually a sign that he'll do something relatively soon, because why would you request a reset unless you're wanting to match up the completion relatively close to the full span on the designation?

**Gistok** · October-26-11, 02:52 AM

Originally Posted by Dexlin

What I think you may be saying is that this is actually a sign that he'll do something relatively soon, because why would you request a reset unless you're wanting to match up the completion relatively close to the full span on the designation?

Yes indeed... it has the hallmarks of an impending start...

Otherwise he wouldn't be asking for the reset of the NEZ until he actually wanted to get started with something.

**Dexlin** · October-26-11, 05:14 AM

I did have myself confused above. I'm reading the article in the News, this morning, and it seems Pugh wants to have this thing reset as soon as he possibly can. Apparently, he's seen the plans for the general concept. There isn't a solid proposal, yet, but enough of a concept to work with, apparently. I wish the News would have done a bit more digging into some preliminary stats [[i.e. how many buildings does the concept include, how many stories each, what kind of square footage are we talking about...etc.).

Apparently, the concept includes a large retail space, and if that's the case, I'd like them to do a two or three story podium, and then put a few modest towers above or a signature tower above. The site is really is large enough that the possibilities about massing are endless, with the parking built in, it makes it even more attractive. It looks like Hudson's basement will be good for something, again. lol

**mikeg19** · October-26-11, 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by gthomas

I agree! Atleast 30-stories. With pretty cool retail, local and national. We need new residential development happening in the core of Downtown Detroit. Retail will for sure follow..

I thought it was mentioned on here that the site was only suitable for 15-20 stories max? Is there any confirmation on how big of a building can be put there? Are the sketches that were drawn up for the site still an option? I thought those were pretty cool looking.

**stasu1213** · October-26-11, 06:43 PM

I think that a mutipurpose building should be built on that site. Three levels or retail space for one building. Loft living on the upper floors where if need be the lofts could be easily converted into office space or retail. The three levels of retail could hold some of the most expensive retail stores such as Macys, Norstroms, Neiman Marcus.