Luxury hotel and condos will occupy Hudson's Detroit tower

A high-end hotel and 97 luxury condos are coming to the newly named Hudson's Detroit project downtown, the developer said Wednesday, adding more concrete definition to mortgage mogul Dan Gilbert's vision for the historic site.

Michigan's second-tallest skyscraper on the former J.L. Hudson's department store site — which recently reached its final height after seven years of work — will be home to an EDITION hotel, and above that, the condos, according to Bedrock, the development firm founded by Gilbert, chairman of parent Rocket Companies Inc.

Together, they will take up all 45 floors of the tower at 1208 Woodward Ave. Work is underway on both projects, Bedrock said, but they won't be open until 2027.

The hotel and condos were just the latest of several announcements about the Hudson's Detroit project in recent weeks. Together, they provide a snapshot of Gilbert's evolving downtown plan that involves upscale living and modern work spaces occupied by name-brand companies — some of them deeply rooted in Detroit and its history.

Earlier this week, General Motors Co. said it would move its longtime headquarters from the Renaissance Center on the Detroit River north to the office portion of the Hudson's project, which sits next to the skyscraper. Also this month, the massive development formally got its name — Hudson's Detroit — and workers placed the final steel construction beam on its tower, reaching 685.4 feet.

The new downtown hotel is the first entry by EDITION — a luxury hotel brand that is a part of Marriott International — into the Midwest, with 19 current locations in popular destinations such as New York City, Miami Beach, London and Tokyo. It will house several restaurants and bars, a pool, outdoor terrace, fitness center and spa, and more than 16,000 square feet of event space.

Bedrock said the hotel, to be formally called The Detroit EDITION, will be the downtown area's first five-star lodging. A spokesperson for the developer did not immediately respond to a request for details on how it will classify that.

Several companies provide such ratings, such as Forbes Travel Guide and Booking.com. Generally such hotels are considered the highest level of luxury stay. Five Star Alliance says that should include "personalized services, a vast range of amenities, and sophisticated accommodations," though the travel agency notes there is no standard rating system.

The condos, to be known as The Residences at The Detroit EDITION, will offer views of the Detroit River and downtown, have one to four bedrooms, interiors designed by New York City and Toronto-based studio Yabu Pushelberg, and provide "a caliber of living that doesn't yet exist in the city of Detroit," Bedrock said in a news release.

A sales center will soon be available by appointment at 1225 Woodward. A website for the condos doesn't yet show floorplans or specific prices, though it does list several broad price ranges, from $550,000 to $750,000, up to beyond $3 million. The announcement said the condos will include 10-foot ceilings and "natural finishes and simple materials such as monolithic stone slabs and rich wood." Residents will also be able to access features such as a fitness center, terrace, pool, in-residence dining and valet parking.

“Hudson’s Detroit is synonymous with excellence, style and grit, so it is only fitting that it will be home to legendary and iconic global brands,” Gilbert said in a statement. “EDITION’S eagerness to enter the Detroit market and introduce its first property in the Midwest, is a true testament of how magnetic our city is today. Hudson’s will be a catalyst for attracting visitors, residents and businesses to the city, and we welcome them to enjoy all the amenities, entertainment, retail, hospitality and dining that Detroiters know and love.”

Earlier this week, GM CEO Mary Barra joined Gilbert and local officials to announce the move of the company's global headquarters from the RenCen to Hudson's Detroit, a mile away. The automaker will lease the top two floors of the new 12-story mixed-use building for 15 years, with a public showroom for GM on the ground floor. GM, Bedrock and the city of Detroit, meanwhile, are also now pondering redevelopment plans for the RenCen, which Barra said could include a mix of uses.

"We're moving from a building that was designed for a different point in time for the work we do. It's going to be very modernized," Barra said.

Eric Larson, a longtime real estate executive and now CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, called the trio of announcements — hotel, condos and GM — "very significant" for downtown as a whole. Downtown still needs a range of additional hotel rooms, and the EDITION will nicely cover the top of the market, he said.

It's a similar story for the residential aspect of the project, he added, with Bedrock's decision to develop luxury condos proving just "how deep the upper-end of that market is" — even if much of the city's focus right now is on affordable and senior housing.

lramseth@detroitnews.com

@lramseth