Bedrock breaks ground on $1 billion project at former Hudson site

DETROIT (WJBK) - Construction is officially underway at the site of the former Hudson Department Store on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit.

Officials broke ground Thursday to begin building a development designed to serve as a destination for events, shopping, conferences, exhibitions, presentation theaters and more. The structure will be part 58-story residential tower with between 330-450 units, and part 12-story building with exhbition space and a groundfloor market. Below will be 700 new parking spaces. The structure will also feature a Skydeck 800 feet in the area to give patrons a bird's eye view of the Motor City.

"Today downtown Detroit is officially going vertical," Bedrock Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert said in a release. "Not only do we need projects like this one to meet the significant demand for office, residential and retail in downtown, but this development becomes the 21st century version of what Hudson's was to metropolitan Detroit for so many decades in the 20th century."

Gilbert added that the project may draw attention from big name companies like Amazon, as he leads the bid for a second headquarters in Detroit.

"When we hear people talk about what Hudson's meant to them, the common theme is that it was a place where memories were made," said Bedrock President Dan Mullen. "Bedrock is fortunate to have the opportunity to create a new landmark by providing all kinds of common and public space which is much needed in our city, and will be the location where innovation and the ideas of the future germinate."