Plans Moving Forward for Hudson Site Redevelopment

[raptor56]

New York City-based SHoP Architects has been selected to lead the design process for a development project at the 2-acre site of the former Hudson’s Department store building in downtown Detroit. Based on an announcement Monday from Rock Ventures, which owns the site and is funding its redevelopment, it sounds as though the project will be fairly methodical, and will solicit input from the public. Rock Ventures, the umbrella company of Quicken Loans founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert, said that in early 2014 ShoP and HAA will host a community lecture series to talk about the project.


Full Article from MLive

[Scottathew]

I can't wait to see the details. I hope it's going to be residential with 1st floor retail.

[Zads07]

Well, here it is, Gilbert picks an architect to design the Hudson's site.

http://www.freep.com/article/2013112...nture-Hudson-s

Here's SHoP's website as well to look at what they've designed in the past.

http://www.shoparc.com/

[Detroitnerd]

It's going to be a Tubby's Sub Shop with ample parking.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

This is on Curbed too. Glad to see that this might be moving forward!

http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...evelopment.php

[Danny]

It might be some 30 story glass covered skyscaper, cutting off sunlight for a brief moment along the Woodward Corridor. The First floor will consists of future exotic retail and restuarants like Italian Bistro, A Chop House from Master Chef Gordan Ramsey, Giorgio Amani, The Apple Store and Abercrombie and Fitch and many more. Second Level would have City Target Store. Three to ten floors will have luxury apartments and condos complete with community room, swimming pool, day care center and exercize room. And finally 18 floors and up will house future corporate office businesses even financial market firms.

That would be a great plan for Gilberttown Detroit. A city in the building within a city.

[Detroitnerd]

I always wondered how they grew them I-beams. Truth is weirder than I'd ever imagined!

[DetroitPlanner]

It's going to be a Tubby's Sub Shop with ample parking.

I can't wait. I love the steak and cheese with the Italian sauce they use. The ham and cheese is pretty good too.

[mikeg19]

What can the foundation hold in terms of size? I thought the number of stories floated around on here is only about 18-20. Either way, that's plenty enough space for a A+ design office to come up with something groundbreaking. I'll be curious to see how it looks, and of course the backlash from most people because it isn't exactly what they think it should look like.

[bailey]

Gilbert's email blast today....

Good Afternoon From Downtown Detroit …

Following another wildly successful tree lighting in Campus Martius Park Friday night and a spirited start to the holiday retail season in the heart of our great city, I am proud to announce the next big step in our Opportunity Detroit mission..

It’s time that the piece of Detroit retail holy ground called the “Hudson’s Site” that sits just north of the Compuware Building on the same side of Woodward [[the east side) gets some seriously creative, destination and iconic new building built on it, don’t you think?

In its day this was the epicenter of downtown Detroit. Over 2.1 million square feet of shopping. To give you some perspective, The Somerset Collection in Troy is under 1.5 million square feet and that includes the combined north and south sides of that world-class regional shopping mall. Hudson’s was where the action, hustle and bustle of a thriving major American downtown was at its highest. I am told that the energy level and excitement of ‘going downtown’ was electric and infectious when you got anywhere around or near this 2.1 acre rectangular city block site, especially during the holiday season.

It is time to bring back the same energy and feelings that this site created for decades for millions of Detroiters, Michiganders and out-of-town visitors. In fact, it is our vision to see this new development serve as the new center of downtown Detroit for decades to come.

The first step in doing this was to find the absolute best and most creative and innovative architects/designers in the world. And after a long and exhaustive search we are confident we have found them.

Early this afternoon we issued the below news release about the two outstanding and unique firms we hired to help us create something very special on this very important Detroit land.

‘SHoP Architects’ was chosen as architect of record to lead the design process for a landmark multi-use development at the long-vacant site. SHoP will partner with local architectural firm Hamilton Anderson Associates to create a visionary design for this property in our urban core.

Check out SHoP’s web site here to see their projects around the world. Then explore the work conceived and built by Detroit’s own Hamilton Anderson Associates in Detroit, New Orleans and Las Vegas here.

I believe Detroit will become the nation’s hottest high-tech, retail and residential DESTINATION once again – and I know you do, too.

We will share more details about this project as it progresses, but in the meantime, we have a lot to be thankful for this week in our great American city.

I am thankful to each of you for your pride and dedication to your work and your commitment to our mission and shared vision of helping to reinvent and rebrand Detroit.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday with your family and friends.

“You’ll see it when you believe it.”

Dan G.
#OpportunityDetroit

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

Cool email by DG. I don't really care if the site is residential or commercial in nature. Having an attractive, occupied building on the site will be great, and long overdue. While I have always felt that imploding Hudson's was awful but necessary, I will feel better about it when something is there in its place. It would be cool if they were able to incorporate some sort of architectural tip of the hat to the old store. I don't know what, but it would be neato.

[greekt0wn]

More smoke and mirrors.

[bailey]

More smoke and mirrors.

It would be smoke and mirrors if it was a design rendering and a lot of talk about structuring the financials and leveraging tax credits...etc. Funding is not an issue here. Shovels are going into the ground as soon as DG signs off on a design.

[Armin]

More smoke and mirrors.

You are the new DYes Hater of the month. You remind me of those two old guys in the balcony from the Muppet Show that boo at everything they see.

This is very exciting news. This SHoP architectural firm looks pretty impressive. Detroit needs a new unique building that stands out and dazzles.

[royce]

So, what I want to know is will the designs from the Opportunity: Detroit competition be given a look-see or will this firm go with what they do?

[rb336]

Not even an "honorable mention" in that "reinvent Detroit" competition. Not even an entrant.

from what I saw on ShOP's website, we can write off the idea of getting anything interesting

http://www.shoparc.com/projects

[stasu1213]

Good choice. Cant wait to see the rendering

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

greekt0wn, you are willfully blind to Dan Gilbert. He is the one guy downtown who has thus far delivered on what he promises. He may get a lot of headlines, but he gets them for what he's doing, not what he's promising. The only big thing he hasn't delivered on, that I can think of, is building a new HQ building for Quicken. But that was talked about pre-meltdown, which I think altered his strategies for downtown. DG is great, especially because he realizes that charity alone won't fix downtown; profitable businesses will.

[401don]

I'm a Gilbert fan but this will be yet another location with retail spaces to fill. If you add up Woodward, CMart area, Z garage, etc. there must be over 100 spaces that Gilbert will control. If he can fill one-third within 3-4 years I'll be impressed.
That will still leave all of the spaces he doesn't control.

[royce]

I like most of their renderings because of the amount of glass they use that allows for natural light to flow through the buildings. The new Penn Station rendering is my favorite. The Essex Crossing development is what I think they will try to do for the Hudson's site. I do hope they go with something that has lots of glass.

[gthomas]

I like most of their renderings because of the amount of glass they use that allows for natural light to flow through the buildings. The new Penn Station rendering is my favorite. The Essex Crossing development is what I think they will try to do for the Hudson's site. I do hope they go with something that has lots of glass.

Oh shoot,... I was gearing towards the 111 West 57th St. development. Too far-fetched, I guess.

[wolverine]

Wonderful news. I know we'll see something excellent produced from SHoP. About damn time we see good new architecture arrive in Detroit.

[greekt0wn]

greekt0wn, you are willfully blind to Dan Gilbert. He is the one guy downtown who has thus far delivered on what he promises. He may get a lot of headlines, but he gets them for what he's doing, not what he's promising. The only big thing he hasn't delivered on, that I can think of, is building a new HQ building for Quicken. But that was talked about pre-meltdown, which I think altered his strategies for downtown. DG is great, especially because he realizes that charity alone won't fix downtown; profitable businesses will.

Yup downtown is booming. Retail is crazy right now! Believe what you will. Those on-ramps look pretty full to me between 4:00-6:00 p.m. and save for a couple of hip restaurants, downtown is barren on the weekends. Fake it til you make it Detroit.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

You are the new DYes Hater of the month. You remind me of those two old guys in the balcony from the Muppet Show that boo at everything they see.

This is very exciting news. This SHoP architectural firm looks pretty impressive. Detroit needs a new unique building that stands out and dazzles.

There sure are enough naysayers on this forum. greekt0wn is definitely the curmudgeon of the month. Now its griping about the new Midtown building too.

[greekt0wn]

I guess all of us pretending everything is terrific is more constructive? Pretty sure Detroit was just called Chernobyl during a 1hr show on CNN.