DETROIT (WWJ) -- A major milestone has been reached at the site of the old J.L. Hudson’s Department Store in downtown Detroit, where crews have installed the first part of the steel structure for the skyscraper that will go up along the site along Woodward Avenue, just north of Campus Martius Park.
Dan Gilbert’s real estate, Bedrock LLC, is heading the development of Detroit’s newest skyscraper, which saw construction begin in 2017. The project moved one step closer to completion as the building’s first steel beams were lifted into place Thursday.
Bedrock says following the initial column placement, periphery structure will be built over a nine-month period, with crews expected to erect two floors -- approximately 30-40 feet -- of steel every three to four weeks.
Installation will include a total of 6,520 tons of structural steel and 100,000 bolts. Some long span trusses weigh more than 120,000 lbs., measuring more than 90 feet long and 22 feet tall.
Bedrock says all the steel they’ll be using on the project is American-made, both fabricated and sourced from Pittsburgh.
The company released video from Thursday's milestone, showing cranes lifting the first pieces of the structure into place, with crews ushering in the newest pieces of Detroit's skyline.
The project is set to house a mix of retail, office and event space in the smaller portion of the block building, while the 680-foot tower will feature 250 residential units and more than 500,000 square feet of hotel space.
The project was once expected to become Detroit’s tallest skyscraper, with plans for the new Hudson’s Building to surpass 900 feet, thus reaching higher than the riverfront’s Renaissance Center. But Bedrock has since said the building will stand 680 feet tall.
The nearly $1 billion project is expected to be completed in 2023.