Downtown Detroit to get 4700 new jobs (Livonia, Southfield: mortgage, loans, income)

[nature's message]

Downtown Detroit to get 4,700 more workers | freep.com | Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20100728/BUSINESS04/7280311/1322/Downtown-Detroit-to-get-4700-more-workers- - broken link)

POSTED: JULY 28, 2010
Downtown Detroit to get 4,700 more workers
Quality of life to improve
BY JOHN GALLAGHER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

After suffering years of depletion and brutal recession, downtown Detroit is about to get an infusion of new people as two firms plan to move a total of 4,700 workers downtown.



The long-awaited move by online mortgage giant Quicken Loans will take place in August, bringing 1,700 workers to the Compuware building.

And an announcement is imminent of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's move of 3,000 workers from its suburban offices to the 500 and 600 towers of the Renaissance Center, a person familiar with the details said Tuesday.
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[fmax]

nature's message,

Good find. A real-time science project, if you will.... so exciting... right after a census too.

[zthatzmanz28]

But there will be few new jobs and even fewer new residents. Just a shuffling of the cards?

[Coldjensens]

It is a good news event for Detroit. It does nothing for Michigan, so it depends on your [erspective. I am pleased. Like it or not, Detroit is Michigans city. It is what people view Michigan as. It is better that we have a city with some life to it.

Personally it is good news to me. It means that the renessaince center businesses will remain open. We may even get some new ones.

[rdub1968]

Too bad for the BCBSM workers that weren't downtown already, now they have to pay parking and city taxes. But they might enjoy the ability to have more things to do at lunch time since their Southfield campus is far from anything.

I used to audit BCBSM, their building on Lafayette could have used a renovation.

[Bhaalspawn]

As far as Quicken Loans goes, it means that Quicken employees will now have to drive to downtown Detroit everyday, increasing traffic congestion and burning excess fuel while increasing many employees' commuting time, all of which effectively decreases their wages. They'll also have to pay the City of Detroit's city tax. While many people are celebrating this move, many Quicken employees are probably dreading it.

It would be much better if the Governor had figured out a way to bring a business from outside the state to downtown Detroit. Then we would actually have something to celebrate. Now we'll just have empty office space in Livonia.

[rdub1968]

How else are they going to pay for Kwame's legal bills?

[Schoolcraft]

Yea, it kinda sucks for the suburbs that Detroit took these companies away... hopefully it will be easier for the suburbs to replace those empty spaces with companies from outside the state than it was for Detroit to get businesses downtown.

[Jwo85]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

As far as Quicken Loans goes, it means that Quicken employees will now have to drive to downtown Detroit everyday, increasing traffic congestion and burning excess fuel while increasing many employees' commuting time, all of which effectively decreases their wages. They'll also have to pay the City of Detroit's city tax. While many people are celebrating this move, many Quicken employees are probably dreading it.

It would be much better if the Governor had figured out a way to bring a business from outside the state to downtown Detroit. Then we would actually have something to celebrate. Now we'll just have empty office space in Livonia.

Why do you think some of us on here preach for Mass transit!

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

As far as Quicken Loans goes, it means that Quicken employees will now have to drive to downtown Detroit everyday, increasing traffic congestion and burning excess fuel while increasing many employees' commuting time, all of which effectively decreases their wages. They'll also have to pay the City of Detroit's city tax. While many people are celebrating this move, many Quicken employees are probably dreading it.

It would be much better if the Governor had figured out a way to bring a business from outside the state to downtown Detroit. Then we would actually have something to celebrate. Now we'll just have empty office space in Livonia.

Overall, I think the move is a plus for the region.

However, I generally agree that simply shifting jobs from the suburbs back to the city's central business district does not change much; no new jobs are created and a suburban community gets stung by the move. That said, big companies with a presence downtown provides ammunition for convincing new, out-of-state businesses to relocate to the region, and specifically to the city.

When the condition of Detroit's central business district is in shambles, it does not provide a compelling motive for new companies to come to here. We are going to have to invest in ourselves first by way of creating a vibrant downtown that's attractive to both workers and businesses in order for them to come. Quicken and BCBS stand as examples that Metro Detroit can still offer a desirable and accomodating, dense business district. I hope the next companies moving into downtown are not suburban offices, but if that happens, things could be worse; they could be moving to Dallas, TX.

Plus, suburban workers always have the option of moving into the city. It would drop their city income tax down a 1/2 percent and they could take advantage of city ammenities. There are a lot of nice places to live downtown/midtown if you are a young couple or an empty nester.