The J.L. Hudson’s flagship store opened in downtown Detroit in 1891 and stood as an icon for both Detroit and the retail industry for generations. At 439 feet tall, it was the tallest retail store in the world for decades, occupying a full block of Woodward Avenue. The store closed in 1983, and the building was imploded in 1998. Bedrock Properties’ plans for Hudson’s Detroit for a mixed-use development began 18 years later.

In 2016, with the Hudson’s legacy still strong in Detroit, Bedrock Properties began working on plans to bring a mixed-use development to the Hudson’s Detroit site that will celebrate its history and serve as a destination for future generations. Like its predecessor, the new Hudson’s Tower will be a landmark feature for Detroit. At a height of 680-ft., it will be one of the tallest buildings in the Detroit skyline.

SME also has history at this site. Our team began providing geotechnical services in 1998, when the basements of the department store were converted into the Premier Underground Parking Garage. SME worked with specialty contractor Spencer White & Prentiss to develop complex wall and foundation plans to support the below-grade parking. 

Although the Premier Underground Parking Garage foundations had been designed to support a 13 to 16-story building, they did not meet the needs for Hudson’s Detroit. The new Hudson’s Tower will be supported on a combination of belled and socketed drilled piers, which extend through the 5-foot mat foundation, snaking between various beams, piles, and drilled piers remaining from the original Hudson’s Department Store building.

SME is the geotechnical engineer of record (GER) for the project. Our team is also providing structure monitoring, environmental, and construction-phase services, including:

• Geotechnical analysis and recommendations for foundation support of the new podium and residential tower structures, as well as for construction cranes.
• Review of and repair plans for existing tiebacks.
• Review of existing below-grade walls, design of additional temporary support, and recommendations for wall repairs.
• Pre-construction condition assessments of the existing streets and Detroit People Mover structures within the project alignment.
• Fully remote vibration monitoring of the Detroit People Mover and surrounding buildings including in-place inclinometers and tilt-meters.
• Geotechnical construction phase services related to foundation construction, including observing an Osterberg load test, Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA) testing, Crosshole Sonic Logging (CSL), and field observation and testing of tiebacks and wall repairs.
• Construction Materials services throughout foundation construction.
• Quality control consulting and testing for the tower superstructure.