A Quick Look at the New Quicken

It would have really been a great development if Quicken had brougt to the city a diversed pool of mortgage girls and gals..

Given Gilbert's racially tinged remarks about Lebron I am not surprised the majority of people of occupy this beautiful space do not reflect the demograpics and hue of the citizens of the Detroit ..

Perhaps when Quicken builds thier HQ in the city the composition of Quicken's work force will truly be reflective of the city it is a good way to score points without having Lebron..I would love to be a witness to that score....

As a QL team member, I make great use of the balconies. In fact, they are furnished so that we can relax and enjoy the outdoors. I just can't wait for a nice fall rainstorm, that is when I really plan to make use of the balcony.

Team members are also getting out and about. There was a concert in Campus Martius at lunch last Wednesday and I was happy to see many of my fellow team members out there enjoying the live music.

But, most importantly, I hope when you were out you had an opportunity to sit in one of the beanbag chairs. They are so comfortable you really never want to get up!

haha Thrash, does the phrase "cut off your nose to spite your face" mean anything to you?

Fantastic article Karen
This move combined with the pending Blue Cross move downtown give me hope that the city will come around. These Firms will bring people with disposable income (whatever color they may be the money is always green thrashey) downtown on a regular basis (read; not for a sporting event). I hope upon hope that these people enjoy being downtown, and maybe move in, or at least stick around after hours to have some fun.

rif23,

Excuse me I don't understand your glee?? I am concerned about employment in urban venues..I am also concerned about high levels of unemployment in Black venues...

Of course when more people are employed and of course when high rates of unemployment for Black folks are reduced then it follows the city and other urban venues will prosper...

I hope that makes you happy and full of glee...It would bring smiles to my face...

Thrashey

that is possibly the most egregious "straw-man" argument I have ever heard.
I take no glee in urban under employment, I find your need to race-bait, even in the face of a positives for this city, amusing.
The fact is that this Quicken move is a positive for the city of Detroit and your inability to accept this is amusing.
Would it be better If quicken hired a bunch of unemployed Detroiters....Yes, Is that a realistic option at this point....No
The point of my comment is simple economics that bringing more employed people into Detroit will create greater demand for services
Greater demand for services will require that service providers hire more employees
Presumably these employees will be Detroiters
A rising tide raises all ships aye' Thrash

rif23,

SO in other words you agree with me regarding the economics of employment in urban venues and of course with regard to Black unemployment...THANKS!!

With regard to your fiction about me and race baiting..Sorry to disappoint you yet again..I never invented the "race card" or its derivatives i.e race baiting etc those were behaviors created by white racism along with segregation, disparate treatment, racial profiling etc..

Firms like Quicken which abandon other cities and leave them with vacant buildings and loss of commerce and tax revenues are a sad reality of today 's ugly global marketplace..

I am sure Karen will get to the subject matter of Quicken's labor force demographics and the issue of firms relocating to the city and the requirements that cities should demand of these firms with regard to equal employment compliance in exchange for tax credits and subsidies in the move..

Karen is a talented journalist..I am just a brother off the block trying to make a difference..

GT: You are a moron. A quick check of your (public) LinkedIn profile shows you are a law school dropout who is either unemployed or at least not meaningful employed enough to do anything but blog all day. (And by the way, checking a blog or an occasional post by the rest of us is in no way comparable to your participation on this forum.) I would suggest that your "think tank" start expanding to doing something more than a daily blog. Maybe during your time as Wayne you could have learned a little more about logic and argument. Unfortunately, instead we are all left with your ramblings. Also, while I'm on the subject. Get a reality check. You are not a legend or anything of any significance. People who are legends inspire action, promote positive growth, and unite communities. You are just a bigot who hides behind race and white man oppression for your shortcomings, don't flatter yourself.
As far as Quicken goes: This company hires young professionals who move to the city and suburbs. When we look to revitalizing the city, we should look to these people who are potential first time homebuyers, who are interested in living in urban environments, who have disposable income, who will raise their children in Detroit. Pretending that this city can turn itself around without educated professionals living in it is naive. Hopefully a fair number of these professionals come from the city, but just becuase some don't is no reason to bash the move.

bmlaw,

Nice to meet you as well....BTW I attended 2 law schools and I own my own business.. Oh yeah I can arrive late at work, take late lunches and even extended vacations..lol,lol,lol

You really are a lousy spokesperson for your employer are you sure you have permission to discuss this subject matter..... Your responses to my concerns about inclusion and diversity suggest not only am I on target but your petty nastiness and defensive demeanor also suggests a lot of envy and angst..Either you are a Black apologist or the usual AWM types that resent talented, independent and prosperous Black men like
me..I bet my zip code pisses you off as well..

BTW I am a stakeholder in the city I will continue to explore and probe and seek answers to whatever questions I so desire whenever the issue of employment and inclusion intersects..

Now run along and answer the phone or tend to others emails of course keep checking this site for my legendary comments and insights...tee hee

Karen was duly impressed with the interior spaces of the new Quicken offices but only barely mentioned who was responsible for that design. One slight mention of "design diva" ( now there's an insult to a professional if there ever was one) is hardly in keeping with the stated goal of encouraging young creative types to make Detroit their home. I can understand how the local press constantly ignores archgitects and designers in their so-called coverage of new buildings and spaces but Time should be better than that.It's no wonder that design professionals go elswhere to get their due.

Early 50's revisited and hyped.

That's when Detroit was in it's heyday.

You have to simply decide whether or not you want to have an exciting and viable city or not.

When we went to pick up the Innovation Michigan Award I drove Megan around downtown Grand Rapids and she commented that it was a lot nicer than Downtown Detroit.

So that's the choice. Do you want a downtown or not.
That was the choice before Pierre Heftler and the Deuce.

Either build it or give up.

The demographic issue of race is and will continue to have to be improved through education and laying aside the snitch conversation because integrity is a real issue.

Integrity, not skin color is the issue.

Bill

Check this out...New York Times, no less

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/realestate/01detroit.html?_r=1

Super article in the NYT...We need more of this in every area of the city....I hope once we get out of these 2 wars we can deflect those revenues to rebuilt our own cities...

All,

Ignore the Thrashman. He's trying to hijack a story about something great to skew it to suit his "victim image."

The building is terrific. The workforce is enjoying the heck out of the city and the city is enjoying the heck out of the influx of economics that are being infused.

Thanks Detroit for such a warm welcome!

Don't ignore threefiveoff just observe how shallow people cannot handle honest and direct dialouge about the issues of diversity, inclusion and equal employment opportunity...

Notice how defensive clerk types like him like to demonize me with the tired dogma of conservatisim by invoking terms like "victim image'..

Of course the influx of commerce and finance would also exist if people of color were part of Quicken's city workforce..

Of course folks who hide behind an alias and a pc did not expect this candid welcome from people like me ..These industocrats thought I would be as shallow as they are but of course that will never happen..