As part of its ongoing efforts to aid in the revitalization of downtown Detroit, Quicken Loans is set to add 1,100 new employees and expand into the former Detroit News building, according to a report from the Detroit News itself.
Also going into the building is a data center for Rocket Fiber, an ultra-high-speed Internet service that is to be deployed in Detroit.
Quicken Loans, Rocket Fiber, and the Detroit News building are all owned, either directly or indirectly, by Dan Gilbert.
From the Detroit News report:
At a (city) council session on Thursday Quicken vice president David Carroll said that 1,100 Quicken employees would be new hires. No timetable was given.
The building owners are seeking a property tax abatement, called a Commercial Rehabilitation District, for up 10 years for renovating the historic building.
Gilbert and Quicken have done much to help in the rebirth of Detroit, as chronicled in the March 2014 of HousingWire Magazine.
“In order for the region to thrive, you need to have a thriving city of Detroit,” Quicken Loans CEO Bill Emerson said at the time. “So we just felt like it was something that we wanted to do to be engaged and involved in. Some of our philosophies are that if you really want to affect the outcome you have to do something about it.”
Gilbert and Quicken Loans put their money where their mouth is. Gilbert moved Quicken Loans’ offices to Downtown Detroit in 2010 and Gilbert has purchased more than 60 properties in the area, with a total outlay of more than $1.3 billion.
And as of Oct. 2014, per a Forbes report, Quicken already has 12,000 employees working in downtown Detroit – with more coming soon.
