Hailed as the most significant development in the city of Detroit in decades, the redevelopment of the Hudson’s site into a mixed-use development earned the project a 2023 CoStar Impact Award for commercial development of the year in Detroit.

The Hudson’s Site Development is an in-progress mixed-use development located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. Located on the former site of J.L Hudson’s Flagship Store, it is expected to be the second tallest building in Detroit as well as Michigan, at 208.7 meters (685 ft) and to be completed by 2024.

Bedrock secured development rights back in 2013 to redevelop the 2-acre, city-owned site that for nearly a century housed the J.L. Hudson building — a 410-foot, Chicago School-style, red-brick structure that once stood as the tallest retail building in the world. The Hudson’s department store opened in 1911 and operated for seven decades before shutting its doors in 1983. In 1998, the landmark was imploded, leaving a big empty space in the heart of Detroit.
Bedrock purchased the site in 2016 after almost two decades of vacancy and hired New York-based SHoP Architects and Detroit-based Hamilton Anderson Associates to lead the design process for the project, with Bedrock initially breaking ground on the development in 2017.

About the project: The Hudson’s project is designed to include 400,000 square feet of office space, 31,000 square feet of retail space, 20,000 square feet of outdoor plaza and indoor gallery space, 90 to 100 apartments and 220 to 230 luxury hotel rooms. One of the highlights of the proposal is the 126,000 square feet of events and meeting space in the office building that Bedrock said will help fill a niche in the Detroit event venue market and serve as the premier event space on Woodard Avenue close to Campus Martius Park. That space is set to be located on the second and third floors of the office building and has been designed to accommodate events ranging from 50 to 2,500 people.

Awarded the mechanical insulation subcontracting work for the project, Rival Insulation is proud to have provided union labor and mechanical insulation for the new plumbing systems, hydronic heating systems and HVAC duct systems throughout the project.