DETROIT (WWJ) -- The skyscraper being erected on the site of the old Hudson’s Department Store was supposed to be the tallest building in Michigan, topping the Renaissance Center along the Detroit riverfront, with a skydeck that would overlook the city and into Canada.
That may no longer be the case, as Bedrock officials say plans have changed. Construction vice president Joseph Guziewicz tells WWJ the skyscraper was initially going to be entirely residential, but now the company plans to make part of the building a hotel, which could place restrictions on the building’s height, depending on guidelines by whichever hotel operator Bedrock decides on.
Guziewicz says plans are still up in the air for the skyscraper, which is expected to see construction come above ground with the first steel beams rising in early 2020. Because of the fluid plans, the idea for a skydeck has been scrapped.
Initially, the building was projected to be around 730 feet tall, just a few feet taller than the Renaissance Center, but Bedrock changed the estimation multiple times, ultimately settling on more than 900 feet. While hotel restrictions could bring that number down, Guziewicz says there’s a bright side to it.
“Detroit is grossly underserved in hotels. As a matter of fact, I think it’s impacted some of our ability as a city to different things, different events and it started getting us to think that this would be a fantastic location,” Guzieiwcz told WWJ.
The planned project at the Hudson’s site is one of four major Bedrock projects aiming to re-shape downtown. Aside from the project along Woodward Avenue, just a few blocks north of Campus Martius Park, the company is also restoring the Book Tower – a few blocks west on Washington near Grand River – expanding the One Campus Martius Building, and developing a multi-building facility known as Monroe Blocks, between Monroe and Randolph Streets and Cadillac Square.
The Hudson’s project is two buildings – the skyscraper, as well as a block-style building next to it that will be occupied by offices and commercial space. While plans have been fluid, Guziewicz says the company has Detroit in mind.
“At the end of the day, if it was impacting the ability to actually function and limit our ability to get programming that we thought overall was better than just having the tallest building, but more importantly, having something that was more privy to Detroit economics and the city in general, it would be an easy decision to make,” he said.
Officials are unsure of how exactly the change will affect the skyscraper’s height, but he told members of the media during a walk-through at the site on Wednesday he doesn’t believe it will cut the size in half, and it could still “possibly” be the tallest building in Detroit.
Guziewicz says the company is still running the numbers, but the costs are rising on the project, in part because of the tariffs on Chinese goods and the nationwide shortage of skilled labor.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2023, roughly a year after the company originally project.