Hudson's Site Building Thread

[Infrastructure]

What I have seen out there so far is that they are augering down, taking out the clay slop [[you can see the dark grey clay spoils in the Oct 29, 2018 photos) and dropping rebar cages into the holes. I have not seen any concrete being placed, but presumably that is what will be happening if not already.

All of this is happening in the tower portion of the building - they have been working on the foundation walls in the northerly portion of the site. You could still see some old yellow tile from the basement walls of Hudsons which was kind of interesting. I wish I had my zoom lens to get a shot.

[Dexlin]

Thanks for a more detailed explanation. Yeah, I couldn't figure out if the auger was for the tower crane or for the foundation of the tower, itself, but it's clear that they were at least doing augering for some part of the site as opposed to pile driving. So far, I've not see any kind of tower crane application for this one, though I found the one for the One Campus Martius expansion in the records. So I imagine this must be foundation work for the actual tower.

I'm still kind of interested in whether they will be going down deeper than the existing foundation piles [[I assume the original building was supported by driven piles), or if they are simply adding more down to the same depth. It'd really be nice if Bedrock were more open about its developments. Where I live projects usually give all kinds of little interesting facts to the media about construction; I've even had projects where they tell you how many piles they are driving or augering.

[Warrenite84]

Attachment 36839

I can now see this out my window!

Mr.Chrome, great view! It would be great to see the progress from your vantage point. Please keep us updated...

[stasu1213]

Attachment 36819
Resurget Cineribus
[It will rise from the ashes]

Those Latin words adorn the flag of Detroit to celebrate the resolve of Detroiters after Detroit’s first great disaster—the fire of 1805—destroyed the city.

Detroit’s next destruction was less dramatic—a decades-long slow fire of social division and economic erosion that left the city in virtual and actual ashes. Several hundred thousand residences and businesses were destroyed and not replaced. Over one million citizens were lost to out-migration.

By October 24, 1998 Detroit’s once glamorous Downtown retail district lay gaunt and largely abandoned, a fate shared by its mighty 29-story J. L. Hudson Department Store when I photographed the final moments as it was reduced to dust.

A concrete slab sat there for the next two decades. It capped an underground parking lot and had I-beam protruding skyward, as if hoping for someone to build there

No one did—until now. Today, a yet-to-be-named 912 foot [will be Detroit’s tallest] residential-commercial tower is under construction. Moving outward from the site, every formerly-abandoned structure in Downtown Detroit is being restored, has plans to be restored or has been restored. The construction crane has replaced the wrecking ball.

As the saying goes “Resurget Cineribus”.

From my Facebook post today. Click the image above for a full screen view.

Just imagine what could had been done o the Hudson building if the mindset amongst developers and planners were as they are now, That building would had been renovated by the end ice of the 2006 Super Bowl.

[mwilbert]

Just imagine what could had been done o the Hudson building if the mindset amongst developers and planners were as they are now, That building would had been renovated by the end ice of the 2006 Super Bowl.

I was very sad that Hudson's was imploded, but it would have taken a very creative plan to reuse effectively. I don't know if you are old enough to have been in it much, but there were vast spaces with no windows, which is fine for a department store, but which makes it hard to put residential or office space in there. Also, it was too big to fill up, certainly in 2006. That one store was over 2 million square feet; it isn't clear how big the new building will be, but probably not much more than half that.

[archfan]

I was very sad that Hudson's was imploded, but it would have taken a very creative plan to reuse effectively. I don't know if you are old enough to have been in it much, but there were vast spaces with no windows, which is fine for a department store, but which makes it hard to put residential or office space in there. Also, it was too big to fill up, certainly in 2006. That one store was over 2 million square feet; it isn't clear how big the new building will be, but probably not much more than half that.

The J L Hudson Building was 2.2 million sf. It was hard to imagine back in the 1990s how the building could have been reused, and it's hard now.

The new tower will be 1.4 million sf, according to: https://www.hudsonssitedetroit.com/

[stasu1213]

I was very sad that Hudson's was imploded, but it would have taken a very creative plan to reuse effectively. I don't know if you are old enough to have been in it much, but there were vast spaces with no windows, which is fine for a department store, but which makes it hard to put residential or office space in there. Also, it was too big to fill up, certainly in 2006. That one store was over 2 million square feet; it isn't clear how big the new building will be, but probably not much more than half that.

I shopped at Hudson for years before it closing. You are right. It did have windowless spaces and was a behemoth of a building to be spared. The more modern Hudson in the malls were inlt 4 levels and maintainable. I once had said that downtown need a big box store to anchor it but now I don't feel that one is needed saving a one or two level City Target. Macy's could open a housewares or linen store on Woodward that will on take up a storefront that can be easily converted if the store go out of business

[Scottathew]

Hello folks! Less progress lately, but it's been a while so I thought I'd share some pictures.

I did have a question for the group. Which angle to do you prefer?

12 Floor Balcony



5th Floor [[centered and lower to the ground, but this picture is taken through a window, which can lower quality)



Bonus close-up of where they were doing the drilling

[Nicholas D'Asti]

Thank you so much for the photo updates, I've been following this project closely since i first heard about it in May of 2017. So excited to see this rise from the Windsor side.

Any news on the Monroe Blocks project? from what it looks like, they haven't even started the demolition of the other existing buildings.

[Dexlin]

Thread on the Monroe Block not that far down the page with an update from a few days ago:

https://www.detroityes.com/mb/showth...ck-Development

48307, do you have any idea what they were doing around the area they were drilling? I thought it was foundation work, but that looks like utility work, particularly given now that they've seemed to have moved on to another part of the site. Those structures strike me as something that will be used to allow electrical and/or gas connections.

As for the angles, why not both? In any case, any shots you can get like that last one showing the detailed work is great, especially since we're past the phase were a "big picture" demolition is applicable.

[Nicholas D'Asti]

Thank you Dexlin. Another thing that I noticed was the walls of the actual site are starting to look a bit like the bathtub slurry walls of the World Trade Center. Interesting to see the progress, even if it's slow as of now.

[gthomas]

I wonder what hotel brand will or should be in this beautiful building? Hope it's something we don't have in this region.

[wazootyman]

I did have a question for the group. Which angle to do you prefer

If I had to pick one, I'd say the 5th floor view. But, both are great. I especially like the bonus close-up.

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this!

[EGrant]

I wonder what hotel brand will or should be in this beautiful building? Hope it's something we don't have in this region.

I hope for an A-list brand in what should become a showcase building in Detroit. Something like a Ritz, Waldorf, Intercontinental or Four Seasons. The fact that many teams and entertainers stay at the Townsend in Birmingham when playing/performing in Detroit is unacceptable.

[Dmberko11]

I hope for an A-list brand in what should become a showcase building in Detroit. Something like a Ritz, Waldorf, Intercontinental or Four Seasons. The fact that many teams and entertainers stay at the Townsend in Birmingham when playing/performing in Detroit is unacceptable.

Can you blame them? They have money and Detroit's hotels are more like Days Inn or Hilton. Economy class. 2 star...lol. And the few nice hotels they have the workers constantly strike at haha. I'm confident though DG will land a good brand for this awesome development. You'll see

[Lowell]

Hello folks! Less progress lately, but it's been a while so I thought I'd share some pictures.

I did have a question for the group. Which angle to do you prefer?

Both! I think the lower floor is more interesting now, for sense of scale, but the 12th floor will be better once the steel starts to rise. Also as you don't have earlier images [I'm guessing] from the 5th like you do from the 12th floor view I think you should continue with the 12th at a minimum as you will maintain a complete time lapse sequence from start to finish. Enjoying your updates very much either way.

[Worldsgreatest]

Can you blame them? They have money and Detroit's hotels are more like Days Inn or Hilton. Economy class. 2 star...lol. And the few nice hotels they have the workers constantly strike at haha. I'm confident though DG will land a good brand for this awesome development. You'll see

The Book Cadillac is a 4 star hotel, the hotels in Birmingham are nothing special so yes I can blame then especially with Shinola hotel about to open.

I do agree that this Hudson hotel will be world class, those terraces are going to offer great views.

[gthomas]

I hope for an A-list brand in what should become a showcase building in Detroit. Something like a Ritz, Waldorf, Intercontinental or Four Seasons. The fact that many teams and entertainers stay at the Townsend in Birmingham when playing/performing in Detroit is unacceptable.

I hope for a W Hotel or Ritz Carlton.

[Scottathew]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'll try to capture both angles for now, both 12th and 5th floor.

Today we noticed new drilling activity closer to Woodward. Here's a picture highlighting that:

[Towne Cluber]

The Book Cadillac is a 4 star hotel, the hotels in Birmingham are nothing special so yes I can blame then especially with Shinola hotel about to open.

The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham is also rated 4 star and was named a Top 500 Hotel in the world by Travel and Leisure Magazine.

So you’re blaming teams for not staying at a hotel that’s not open and still under construction...

Well then you’re really not going to like that another luxury hotel is in the final stages on planning in Birmingham.

[Worldsgreatest]

Good for Birmingham, there's just no reason for anybody to go to the suburbs for hotels, putting situations like the strike aside.

[Dexlin]

Can you guys take this conversation somewhere else?

The rents/leases in this new complex are going to be very high; the only hotels that will be in the mix will be the ones who'll be able to afford such leases. Now, please wait and see which ones have the money to buy into this project. Thanks. There is literally no need to be talking about Birmingham or anywhere else for that matter when we're talking about what will be a tower with at least one premiere/flagship hotel.

[Towne Cluber]

Can you guys take this conversation somewhere else?

The rents/leases in this new complex are going to be very high; the only hotels that will be in the mix will be the ones who'll be able to afford such leases. Now, please wait and see which ones have the money to buy into this project. Thanks. There is literally no need to be talking about Birmingham or anywhere else for that matter when we're talking about what will be a tower with at least one premiere/flagship hotel.

Pointing out the premiere hotel in the region during a discussion about another premiere hotel [[or two) coming to the region is absolutely relevant. What can be taken elsewhere are erroneous claims and highly biased, zero-sum opinions.

[Worldsgreatest]

Pointing out the premiere hotel in the region during a discussion about another premiere hotel [[or two) coming to the region is absolutely relevant. What can be taken elsewhere are erroneous claims and highly biased, zero-sum opinions.

You're quite riled up over nonsense, give it a rest.

[Towne Cluber]

You're quite riled up over nonsense, give it a rest.

You must be a lot of fun at parties.