Quicken Loans Begins Move of 2,500 Additional Team Members to Downtown Detroit

DETROIT -- Monday marked the first wave in a series of moves that will bring 2,500 more professionals to Detroit by early 2012.

Some 1,500 Quicken Loans employees took over their new offices at the renovated Chase Tower Building -- originally the headquarters of National Bank of Detroit -- bringing the company one step closer to its goal of relocating all of its Michigan-based employees to downtown Detroit.

The relocating employees will join a brain force of 1,700 colleagues who moved from the suburbs to Detroit 14 months ago when Quicken Loans and several sister companies moved their headquarters to the Compuware Building on Campus Martius, a couple of blocks north of the Chase building.

An additional 1,000 team members from several of Quicken Loans' sister companies will move to downtown Detroit and occupy space in the Madison Theatre Building and First National Building when renovations on those two buildings are completed in November 2011 and early 2012, respectively.

"Today marks the next step in the effort to transform downtown Detroit into a work, live and play epicenter where young professionals come to plant roots and grow their careers," said Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans, the nation's largest online home lender. "More and more people, investors and businesses are joining the initiative to build something very special here."

Gilbert acquired the 505,000 square foot, 14-story Chase Tower, which occupies a full city block on Woodward Avenue, in April 2011, and immediately began renovating its interior. Today, the building features bright neon-colored walls, open floor plans, and high-tech, collaborative meeting areas that encourage teamwork, communication and creativity.

Along with Quicken Loans, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. will continue to occupy parts of Chase Tower. The building will boast a world-class cafeteria, and the first floor will be redesigned and redeveloped to accommodate pedestrian-friendly retail space along Woodward Avenue.

Said Quicken Loans CEO Bill Emerson: "The city is an amazing place to live, work and play with so many great restaurants and cultural gems to explore. There is never a shortage of things to do in Detroit. It is a great time to be in the D."

Bedrock Real Estate Services LLC,  the partnership created to oversee the purchase, leasing, redevelopment, build-out, and overall management of Gilbert's downtown real estate investments, supervised the redevelopment of the Chase Tower, Rossetti Architects designed Quicken Loans' space, and Sachse Construction renovated it.

The new team members will be joining several sister companies already in Detroit:

* One Reverse Mortgage LLC, the nation's second largest retail provider of reverse mortgage home loans;
* Quizzle LLC, a free online tool that provides consumers a complete understanding of their credit so they can make better financial decisions;
* In-House Realty LLC, the preferred real estate partner of Quicken Loans, its clients, and its partner companies;
* Fathead LLC, the leading brand in sports and entertainment graphic products;
* Bizdom U, a non-profit, entrepreneurship accelerator that trains, mentors and funds aspiring entrepreneurs to open innovative, growth-oriented businesses in Detroit;
* Detroit Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in seed and early-stage technology companies;
* Rockbridge Growth Equity, a company of private equity investors focused on building the next generation of great businesses;
* Rock Companies, a vertically integrated real estate company with expertise in acquisitions, development, construction, property management and asset management.
* Rock Gaming, a gaming partnership with Caesars Entertainment formed with an initial focus to develop first-class casinos in Cincinnati and Cleveland; and
* Bedrock Real Estate Services, offering full property management and real estate services in cities such as Detroit and Cleveland.