Ally Financial Consolidates Personnel, Maintains Headquarters In Detroit
By Edward Cardenas
DETROIT (CBS Detroit) - Ally Financial announced Tuesday that it will consolidate its offices in southeast Michigan into One Detroit Center, a building just purchased by Dan Gilbert's Bedrock Real Estate Services.
Ally will be moving 700 employees from its current headquarters in the Renaissance Center, and 600 team members from its four other Southeast Michigan locations, into the office tower at 500 Woodward Ave. in the spring of 2016.
"Like the city of Detroit, Ally is continuing to evolve and build upon a strong heritage," said Ally Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey J. Brown, in a release. "This is an exciting time for our company, and bringing all of our Southeast Michigan-based associates together in one impressive building in the heart of the city sets the stage for our next chapter, which will be rooted in innovation, creativity and a strong and vibrant culture."
One Detroit Center will soon be renamed Ally Detroit Center, and will house 1,300 Ally employees will on 13 floors and 321,000 square feet in the building. The company will also employ nearly 200 independent third-party contractors and vendors in Detroit.
The deal was the result of a collaboration between Ally, the City of Detroit, and Bedrock Real Estate Services, which came together over two weeks in January, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. During the press conference announcing the deal, Duggan stated that Ally was close to relocating to suburbs.
"Ally Financial has been an important part of this community for decades," Duggan said in a release. "We are pleased that such a significant stakeholder in our city will remain a central part of Detroit's ongoing resurgence for years to come."
Bedrock, which entered into a 12-year lease with Ally, closed on the purchase of the 43-story, one million square foot skyscraper, Tuesday morning.
"Ally had many choices when deciding where to locate their long-term headquarters," said Dan Gilbert, Founder and Chairman of Rock Ventures and Quicken Loans, in a release "It is becoming increasingly certain that the urban core of downtown Detroit is the place to be for businesses from large Fortune 500 companies to new economy high-tech start-ups and all kinds of businesses in between. What another exciting day for downtown Detroit and the entire region."
Jim Ketai, Bedrock chief executive officer, added that a new 7,000 square foot Townhouse restaurant with an all-glass dining space and retractable roof is scheduled to open in the 1 Detroit Center this summer.
"This deal enabled us to match a top Michigan corporation with one of the city's premiere commercial properties. We look forward to a long and successful future together," Ketai said.