Nearly nine months after a brush with death, billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert is back to work with one main mission: Construct Detroit's first 21st Century skyscraper at the site of a once-iconic 20th Century downtown landmark.

In the first interview he has granted since suffering a stroke in late May, Gilbert told Crain's that constructing a tower at the former J.L. Hudson's Department store site is his "No. 1 priority."

The Hudson's project is followed closely by building a satellite campus for the University of Michigan at the former Gratiot Avenue jail site in partnership with New York real estate mogul Stephen Ross.

Three years ago, the Quicken Loans chairman set out to construct a building taller than the 727-foot-tall Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. At one point, Gilbert's Bedrock LLC said the tower could soar to as tall as 919 feet.

But the project has since been scaled back as Bedrock has searched for an anchor tenant and hotel partner to occupy some portion of a planned residential tower.

Gilbert downplayed the significance of the project's final height.

"Programming will drive it," Gilbert told Crain's. "Size is just a reflection of programming. We're certainly in no race to say that no matter what happens, we have the tallest building in Detroit. I don't know if that's relevant."

Bedrock CEO Matt Cullen disclosed last month that Gilbert's real estate company was no longer focused on building the tallest tower in Detroit's skyline, but rather a structure that has "a lot of characteristics relative to retail and public space and a world-class hospitality component."

"There's three or four plans that are still out there that they're working every day," Gilbert said.

Cullen said the height of the tower and hotel partner should be finalized by June.

"It's happening all right now, and it's probably my No. 1 priority," Gilbert said. "It's not the height of Hudson's, but that Hudson's gets done the right way."

Inside Gilbert's family of companies, the Hudson's tower has become an all-hands-on-deck project following a shake-up of Bedrock's top management ranks that began unspooling publicly after Gilbert suffered a stroke on May 26 that caused temporary paralysis on the left side of his body.

In early June, Bedrock executive Dan Mullen exited the company, followed by his boss, Jim Ketai, who co-founded Bedrock with Gilbert.

Ketai left the company in August. Gilbert, before the stroke had installed his company's vice chairman, Bill Emerson, as CEO of Bedrock, diminishing Ketai's role.

Cullen, a longtime Gilbert deputy, was named CEO of Bedrock on Sept. 1 as Emerson moved back to his duties as vice chairman of Quicken Loans and Rock Holdings, the parent company of Gilbert's business empire. In January, Bedrock hired veteran Detroit real estate attorney Lawrence McLaughlin to be the company's first chief development officer.

While this shake-up was taking place, Quicken Loans CEO Jay Farner became more involved in the real estate end of Gilbert's business interests in Detroit, according to Gilbert.

"He's been touching everything," Gilbert said of Farner, the longtime TV and radio pitchman for Quicken Loans and its Rocket Mortgage product.

Farner, who has worked for Quicken Loans for 24 years, sat in on Gilbert's interview with Crain's on Wednesday inside the chairman's office at One Campus Martius.

He said company leaders have been carrying out Gilbert's vision for the Hudson's site, which had been a below-ground parking garage after the iconic department store was imploded in October 1998.

"Dan always talks about five years out, 10 years out, what's the most important thing for the city, and then let's get the programming in that tower and that will help dictate" height, Farner said.