Detroit businesses excited by Quicken relocation

Employees at one of downtown Detroit's newest companies were greeted with open arms by the city's business community this week.

Local restaurants, catering services and shop owners expressed their excitement to the Detroit Free Press that internet mortgage lender Quicken Loans had begun moving 1,700 employees into its newly-leased office space in the Compuware building. Quicken is one of a handful of technology companies that has announced plans to relocate to downtown Detroit, creating a surge of optimism in a community that has been hit hard economically.

"We felt that there was a possibility that the city was turning around and there was some synergy of investment and companies coming downtown, and we wanted to be a part of that," Jon Grabowski, owner of the Spa 1924 Grille, a new restaurant also located in the Compuware building. He expanded the size of his business when he learned that Quicken would be moving in.

For their part, Quicken officials said they are pleased to be a catalyst to corporate relocation activity, even encouraging sister company Quizzle to move as well. Quicken founder Dan Gilbert hopes the companies will lead to a strong technology-based district in downtown Detroit.

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