Quicken Loans Family of Companies Surpasses 17K Employees in Detroit, More to Come

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Since 2010, when Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans Inc., moved some 2,600 workers to downtown Detroit from Livonia and other suburban communities, the residential mortgage enterprise and its family of companies now employ more 17,000 employees in the city.

Looking back on the progress, as well as ahead, Gilbert says that one successful project leads to another and serves to build confidence among prospective tenants locally, nationally, and internationally.

The progress is expected to intensify in the coming months and years as Ilitch Holdings Inc.’s Little Caesars Arena at Woodward Avenue and Henry Street opens today and The District Detroit, the 50-block area around the arena, draws more tenants. Gilbert and his team, in turn, are redeveloping several large skyscrapers while planning new developments in the central business district and beyond.

As noted today at the grand opening of Little Caesars Arena, the work completed represents some 25 percent of the progress to date in The District Detroit.

“We just had our seventh anniversary (in Detroit), and we have over 17,000 workers here now,” says Gilbert. “But it’s not just us. If you look at the Ilitch companies and how they have grown, and when you look at General Motors Co. and all the other businesses, entrepreneurs, and residents that have been added, it’s amazing.

“I believe when the next U.S. Census comes out (in 2020), you will see a net population gain of people living in the city. We’ve had success bringing people to work here, and now we’re making progress on having people live here. The demand we are seeing for our Brush Park residential project (City Modern) is strong and growing.”

Below are the latest figures for the Quicken Loans Family of Companies:

  • 17,000 employees working in Detroit (3,370 live in the city).
  • Detroit’s largest employer, minority employer, and taxpayer.
  • From 2010 through 2015, the companies have collectively generated $13 billion in statewide economic impact.
  • From 2010 through 2015, the companies have invested $5 billion in Detroit, generated $4.5 billion in employee wages, paid $1.2 billion in state and local taxes, and invested $2.5 billion in real estate.
  • Since 2010, the companies have acquired more than 90 properties in Detroit, which collectively total more that 15 million square feet of space. During the same period, the companies have drawn more than 500 commercial tenants to the city.
  • Newly built projects from the companies include the Quicken Loans Data Center in Corktown and the 1,300-space Z Garage along with several ground-floor tenants.
  • Planned new developments include the Hudson’s site (new), Monroe Block, and a 23,000-seat soccer stadium, along with commercial and residential offerings and a hotel at the Wayne County jail site at I-375 and Gratiot Avenue.
  • Existing buildings now being redeveloped into mixed-use projects include the David Stott Building (Capitol Park), Book Tower and Book Building along Washington Boulevard, Shinola Hotel and Vinton Building (Woodward Avenue), 28 Grand north of Capitol Park, and City Modern in Brush Park.
  • Buildings that have been renovated and leased in recent years include Chrysler House, Federal Reserve, First National, One Campus Martius, Kresge Building, One Woodward, Ally Detroit Center, Chase Tower (Qube), Corktown Lofts, Malcomson Building, and more.
  • Since 2010, the companies have directly contributed $126.5 million to numerous organizations and programming activities.