Hudson's tower tops out at 681 feet

Crews set the final steel beam on the Hudson's site tower in downtown Detroit in April 2024, fixing the building at just over 681 feet, per Bedrock. The milestone, known as a topping out, made the tower the tallest new construction the city has seen in fifty years and its second-tallest building behind the Renaissance Center. Bedrock, Dan Gilbert's real estate firm, confirmed the official name of the two-building development as Hudson's Detroit days later.

"The talent and dedication of Detroit's tradespeople has been a driving force on the Hudson's Site and integral to achieving this landmark project," Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Bedrock, said in the company's announcement.

The block at 1208 Woodward has carried the Hudson's name since the early 20th century, when the J.L. Hudson department store stood on the site. The store grew over the following decades into a downtown flagship that stood among the tallest department stores in the world. It closed in 1983 and was demolished in 1998 in what was then one of the largest controlled implosions ever attempted. The site sat as an open pit for years before construction began on the current project.

New York firm SHoP Architects designed the tower as a stack of slender, stepped volumes. An earlier rendering had reached for roughly 900 feet before Bedrock revised the plan down to its final height.

By Bedrock's account, the work behind the topping out was substantial. The company credited more than 3,500 tradespeople with over 2.7 million recorded hours of labor, and the tower frame used about 10,500 tons of steel.

The development carries an estimated total cost near $1.4 billion, and the Detroit City Council approved a tax abatement to support construction after a stretch of public debate over the package. The complex holds two buildings. The taller one contains 97 for-sale condominiums and a five-star EDITION hotel operated through Marriott, both slated to come online in 2027. The shorter building, twelve stories and 232 feet, holds office and retail space. Between the two sits a pedestrian plaza dedicated as Nick Gilbert Way in November 2025, named for Gilbert's late son.

An underground garage with roughly 700 spaces connects the two buildings. When fully open, the development adds about 1.5 million square feet of office, retail, residential, and event space to the Woodward block. It is the first skyscraper taller than 500 feet built in Detroit in the 21st century. The last, One Detroit Center, was completed in 1993.

1208 Woodward Ave., Detroit