Four years ago, Quicken Loans Inc. was leasing office space in Livonia, Farmington Hills and Troy.
By the end of this year, Quicken and many of the other companies owned by Dan Gilbert were fully housed in Detroit. The headcount is now close to 4,000.
With the move, Gilbert also bought a significant portfolio of office buildings through his Detroit-basedRock Holdings Inc.
He purchased the Chase Tower, the Madison Theatre Building, the Two Detroit Center parking garage, the First National Building and the Dime Building.
The real estate portfolio now comprises 1.7 million square feet and roughly 3,500 parking spaces in Detroit, making Gilbert the second-largest private owner of office space in the city’s central business district behind General Motors Co.
And the spree continues down Woodward just south of Grand Circus Park.
As of mid-December, his group had purchased the title from the Wayne County treasurer to the building at 1550 Woodward for $176,000 in back taxes. He also had the buildings at 1520 Woodward and 1528 Woodward under contract to be purchased from the Detroit Downtown Development Authority for $337,500 each.
The group has long-term plans to create a residential development on the portion of the former J.L. Hudson department store site immediately north of the Compuware Building.
Gilbert’s real estate group also disclosed on its website that it has plans to redevelop the building at 1500 Woodward Ave. Purchase price was not disclosed.
