Excitement is growing inside General Motors for the company to relocate from its current world headquarters at the Renaissance Center along the Detroit River to the new Hudson’s Detroit building on Woodward — so much so that the company will now double the space it planned to occupy at the new location, sources said.
GM confirmed to the Detroit Free Press Monday that it plans to lease four floors in the Hudson’s building, rather than the original plan to take up two floors, when it moves into the building either late next year or early 2026.
“It’s good news that we’re taking up more space in the building for our employees,” a person familiar with the plans told the Free Press. The person asked to not be named because they are not authorized to share this information publicly. “There’s a lot of excitement around it and a lot of folks and teams have raised their hands to say they want to be down there.”
The overall $1.4 billion Hudson’s project is two new side-by-side buildings: A 49-story skyscraper and a wider 12-story “office block.” A total of 1.5 million square feet of space is planned. The developer is Dan Gilbert’s real estate firm Bedrock.
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The person familiar with the project said the plans call for a restaurant on the top floor of the office block. GM will now occupy floors 8 through 11. The new world headquarters at the Hudson’s site will be home to GM’s key support corporate staff employees with functions such as communications and accounting, as well as the top executives, the person said. GM salaried employees have been working under a hybrid system since earlier this year under which they are required to be in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
As the Detroit Free Press reported in April, the Hudson’s skyscraper tower is expected to contain a 210-room ultraluxury Edition Hotel and about 97 condominiums and apartments. Commercial real estate brochures show each floor in the office tower next door is just under 50,000 rentable square feet. That means, based on standard office space allocation, a 50,000-square-foot office could fit about 285 to 300 people if allowing for 150-175 square feet per person, according to Zippia.com. The number would vary depending on the office layout, desired density and any communal areas such as conference rooms included in the space.
GM spokesman Kevin Kelly confirmed GM’s expansion to four floors, but declined to say how many GM employees will be assigned to the building or other details. In Michigan, GM employs 51,400 people, Kelly said.
