Hudson's Site Building Thread

[ShadowSoarer]

Update as of 4/19, I believe the elevator cores went up today:

[stasu1213]

Update as of 4/19, I believe the elevator cores went up today:

Nice

[Scottathew]

They're making steady progress on windows every day. You can see the action about halfway through:

[stasu1213]

Still I hear crickets sound

[13606Cedargrove]

This thread is like watching paint dry. Yet, here I am.

[EGrant]

ThEyRe JuSt MoViNg WiNdOwS aRoUnD

[stasu1213]

The tower is almost as tall as the Penobscot Building

[Scottathew]

Still I hear crickets sound

The timelapse videos do not contain sound.

[stasu1213]

The timelapse videos do not contain sound.

I was referring to the development on Woodward and Mack

[bailey]

speaking of crickets and watching paint dry.... anyone find it odd that after 6 years of construction and press releases and various renderings and redesigns, we've not heard about any major tenants either for the mall or the office space, only vaguely got a mild confirmation about a possible hotel brand [[down from two), no actual numbers on how many condos [[Bedrock says 90-100...last press release says 100-120) the sizes, prices, or any even attempt at pre-sale?

I know this development isn't really playing by the normal rules of development in that it's a billionaire's pet project....but for a building that is allegedly going to open next year, after such a long build, seems odd to have zero actual detail about any of that.

Seems like you'd want to be building the buzz and FOMO for tenants and buyers.

[stasu1213]

speaking of crickets and watching paint dry.... anyone find it odd that after 6 years of construction and press releases and various renderings and redesigns, we've not heard about any major tenants either for the mall or the office space, only vaguely got a mild confirmation about a possible hotel brand [[down from two), no actual numbers on how many condos [[Bedrock says 90-100...last press release says 100-120) the sizes, prices, or any even attempt at pre-sale?

I know this development isn't really playing by the normal rules of development in that it's a billionaire's pet project....but for a building that is allegedly going to open next year, after such a long build, seems odd to have zero actual detail about any of that.

Seems like you'd want to be building the buzz and FOMO for tenants and buyers.

I could see The Block opening later this year being that the outer skin or shell is close to completion. The construction is moving at a faster pace now. It should be completed by January or February of next year. The outer part should be completed by December if work is done around the clock instead of the 9 to 5 routine.

[bigboat]

That is why the Monroe Blocks has been delayed and thrifted back in size and design. No specific plan for the Hudson's Site yet either. I know it is a lot of money for Bedrock, but I'm just extremely happy it is being built and it is a very large development and something new and special for Downtown Detroit.

[ShadowSoarer]

Update as of 5/4:

[stasu1213]

I think that it had already surpassed the Penobscot Building in height or very close

[southen]

One Campus Martius is 216 feet tall and this isn’t even double that yet so it’s still a way off from the 565 feet the Penobscot is.

[Gistok]

^ And another 90 ft.... 655 in total to the top of the globe.

[royce]

Since we're waiting to see what "concrete" will go on the Hudson's site, I'm going to do some revisionist history and tell you how things could have gone on that site years ago. First of all, before the downtown store closed, there may have been an opportunity to keep it open by developing the former Kern's Block into a multistory parking garage that attached to the flagship store. Offering free parking through validation might have brought more people back to the store and kept it open.

Secondly, after the store closed, a conversion to a hotel might have saved the building, and like the huge Hilton on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, the Hudson's building as a hotel would still be running today. And I still believe a massive hotel/residence on the block would have been a better choice than what's being proposed there now [[I know some of the site is slated for a hotel and residences, but in my vision it would all be in one building, no separate tower. So vape on that for a while.

[401don]

Since we're waiting to see what "concrete" will go on the Hudson's site, I'm going to do some revisionist history and tell you how things could have gone on that site years ago. First of all, before the downtown store closed, there may have been an opportunity to keep it open by developing the former Kern's Block into a multistory parking garage that attached to the flagship store. Offering free parking through validation might have brought more people back to the store and kept it open.

Secondly, after the store closed, a conversion to a hotel might have saved the building, and like the huge Hilton on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, the Hudson's building as a hotel would still be running today. And I still believe a massive hotel/residence on the block would have been a better choice than what's being proposed there now [[I know some of the site is slated for a hotel and residences, but in my vision it would all be in one building, no separate tower. So vape on that for a while.

Do you remember the 80's & 90's? There were literally tumbleweeds on Woodward and absolutely no demand for hotels or housing, especially in a building so massive. Now if you're suggesting it should have been mothballed until things turned around that's possible, but who knew when that might happen?

[Gistok]

I don't see that the old Hudson's Store could ever have been converted into a Hotel. First of all, all the lower floors take up the entire block... 2.2 million sq. ft. in total. Any hotel could only have rooms with windows. The windows are all around the perimeter of the building. on the lower 15 floors with hotel rooms around the perimeter, what do you do with the massive interior bulk of the building?

The new Hudson's complex, even with a 685 ft. tower will only take up 1.4 million sq. ft., or about 2/3 of what old Hudson's had.

[Jason]

That actually was the plan for a bit. Taubman was going to develop an urban mall called Cadillac Center. That's where the people Mover station got its name from.

There would be anchor department stores where Hudson's and Kern's were, and where One Campus Martius is now, sort of in a triangle shape, with a tall atrium connecting them. On top of all of that would be a few floors of parking.

Monroe would be pedestrianized, and the shape of the mall would effectively narrow the width of Monroe to be closer to what it is in Greektown. The buildings that were on today's Monroe "blocks" would have had their facades preserved, retail put in on at least the ground floor, and a parking garage behind them. So Greektown would have flowed into the mall area.

Around Woodward and Gratiot there was to be an underground light rail station which would have connected directly to the mall at the basement level.

Hudson's would have either been demolished and had new space built as part of the mall, or would have been renovated. Renovation would have had the new Hudson's on the lower levels, with the floors being cut open to make a more open and spatially interesting space, typical of the time period. The the upper levels would be mixed use. But keeping the building would have depended on how much it would have cost to renovate to their standards, which considering the expense, and the fact that pretty much everywhere else in the plans showed it being replaced, the idea of renovating it was probably mostly lip service.

The mall wasn't built because it was contingent on other things happening. Taubman and the mall tenants wanted the light rail line, and they wanted a higher downtown residential population. From my understanding they were satisfied by the proposed developments downtown, but those developments were also tied to the light rail line.


On one hand, it's a shame it wasn't built, because I do think it would have changed the trajectory of downtown. On the other hand, architecturally, we dodged a bullet. https://goo.gl/maps/47Y5uNGkccm1FVpR7 It was to basically be the same as this other urban Taubman mall in Stamford, Connecticut. Over time it could have been modified to be better, but still.

[ShadowSoarer]

Update as of 5/8 will the crane height increased and elevator shaft going up.

[1953]

Is it just me or do those glass panels on the tower look like its 1973 again?

1953

[K-slice]

I think the elevator cores have finally rose above Book Tower! Picture from the 36th floor.

[stasu1213]

I wonder will the Block open sooner being that it is almost completed? Will it's open have to wait until the Tower part is completed?

[bigboat]

Watching the latest Frankai Bike Cam video seems to indicate they are installing a blue glass on the back of the Hudson's tower and similar in color to what has been installed on the podium portion of this development. Could be an interesting contrast.