Bedrock Wraps Up Detroit Office Tower
The building is part of a 1.5 million-square-foot development.
Bedrock Real Estate Services has completed the office component of Hudson’s Detroit, a 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development that also includes retail, hospitality and residential spaces. The 12-story, 558,000-square-foot building has General Motors’ new global headquarters as its anchor.
Billionaire real estate mogul Dan Gilbert undertook the $1.4 billion project under the aegis of his real estate company Bedrock. For some decades, the firm has undertaken a series of building renovations, adaptations and historic restorations in downtown Detroit with the revitalization of the city as an overarching goal.
The mixed-use project is taking shape on the site of J.L. Hudson Department Store, once the tallest department store in the world and well known to generations of Detroit residents. The store closed in 1983, victim of radically changed demographics in Greater Detroit and stiff competition from suburban retailers. The old department store was razed in 1998.
Hudson’s Detroit, up close
Designed by SHoP Architects, Hudson’s Detroit smaller tower includes 400,000 square feet of office space, first-floor retail and a 56,000-square-foot event venue that has already hosted gatherings. Apart from General Motors, other office tenants will include Accenture, Ven Johnson Law, Rock (the Gilbert Family Office) and the Gilbert Family Foundation.
“I’d categorize the Hudson Building as a resounding success—for a building to come out of the ground on spec in downtown Detroit, double the market’s rents, and be 93 percent preleased is no small feat,” Savills Managing Director Pete McGrath, who is based in Detroit and not involved in the development, told Commercial Property Executive.
“It’s an example of flight-to-quality that will be used as a case study in university real estate courses for years to come,” he added.
The development’s second tower, rising 45 stories, topped out in 2024 and is slated for completion in 2027. It will feature condos—The Residences at The Detroit Edition—on its top floors, and the Detroit Edition hotel on its lower floors.
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Nick Gilbert Way is a pedestrian plaza at the property that will host events year-round. Named in honor of the late son of Dan and Jennifer Gilbert, the plaza will be an accessible gathering place with such programming such as live music, art installations and retail pop-ups, launching this November for the holidays.
The property will also include a mix of retailers and restaurants, including ALO—a wellness-focused apparel brand which opened at Hudson’s in August—and Tecovas, a modern Western outfitter that opened in early October. Further retailers will be announced soon, joining Bedrock tenants on the Woodward corridor such as Apple, Shinola, Apple, Lululemon, Nike, Savage X Fenty, H&M and The Lip Bar.
General Motors’ new HQ
The move by GM marks the automaker’s return to Woodward Avenue, where it established its first headquarters in the city in 1911. GM entered into an initial 15-year, multi-level lease for the top office floors of the Hudson’s Detroit office building, as well as showcase space on the street level for GM vehicles and community events.
The firm’s new lobby and public showroom will be called “Entrance One,” located at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Nick Gilbert Way. The name honors the legacy of the department store, where Entrance One was once the main entrance for employees on Farmer Street.
The fate of GM’s previous headquarters at the Renaissance Center, a series of interconnected buildings adjacent to downtown, is unclear. GM tapped Bedrock to consult about the property’s future and has suggested tearing down some of the structure and redeveloping other parts into residences and hotel space. Complete demolition is also a possibility.
The revival of downtown Detroit
The Hudson’s Detroit development fills a literal and metaphorical hole in downtown Detroit, which has become a focus of other real estate activity lately. One of the larger projects has been Newlab and Ford’s redevelopment of the Book Depository, an art deco landmark near Michigan Central Station, into a tech incubator.
Downtown Detroit’s office market has remained remarkably resilient over the past five years, McGrath said. Generally speaking, its buildings have strong rent-rolls and the landlords are well capitalized, and he says he is bullish on its future.
“Across Michigan, we’ve done well in attracting more R&D type users that need both office and lab space in markets such as Auburn Hills, Plymouth, and Ann Arbor,” McGrath said. “Both domestic and international companies have relocated here to take advantage of our access to engineering talent and strong base in the automotive industry.”
However, the state has had a harder time attracting more large-scale office users in the professional services industries, such as finance, advertising and tech, partially because these firms are still consolidating and cutting back on office footprints everywhere, McGrath said. The Hudson development and downtown Detroit’s challenges luring new tenants to the region reflect market conditions statewide more than anything else.
“If our market is going to grow, our best bet is to grow organically and focus on the organizations that are already located here,” McGrath said. “Competing with other cities and regions through incentives and the overall site selection game will always be an uphill battle for the Detroit region.”
Other projects underway in the downtown area include the Residences @ 150 Bagley, The Belle, and Reckmeyer Lofts, all of which will add more opportunities for people to live downtown. North of Beacon Park, the University of Michigan Center for Innovation, slated to open in the fall of 2026, will bring graduate students, scholars and other professionals downtown.
The city of Detroit itself is now on better financial footing, having emerged from bankruptcy in 2014. Since then, the city has recorded 10 consecutive years of budget surpluses. Moody’s Investment Services gave Detroit its 11th consecutive credit rating upgrade in 2025 and named the Hudson’s development in its report.
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