When 700 employees of Quicken Loans arrived for work Monday at the Compuware building, they each found a gift bag stuffed with discount coupons from nearby downtown restaurants and shops very eager to make their acquaintance.

Long-suffering businesses downtown have been eagerly awaiting Quicken’s move from suburban Livonia, seeing it as a sign of better days ahead. Downtown has been suffering a king-sized hangover from the prolonged recession.

Among the restaurant owners contributing discount cards to the gift bags was Jon Grabowski, owner of the Spa 19 24 Grille at the Westin Book Cadillac.

“Any exposure we can give to new businesses coming downtown only helps this idea of a greater Detroit,” Grabowski said Monday.

Employees of Quicken, an Internet-based mortgage lending company, also got a discount coupon from CK Mediterranean Grille & Catering, which by coincidence opened for business Monday in the Compuware complex at 119 Monroe. Owner Ouse Gulli said that when he learned that Quicken was moving downtown, he increased the size of his restaurant space from 2,000 square feet to 2,400 square feet.

“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,” he said.

Amid the excitement, it helps to remember that the Quicken move reflects a transfer of jobs within metro Detroit, rather than new jobs or growth from outside the region. And it also may bear remembering that when Quicken founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert first announced he would move his headquarters downtown from Livonia, in November 2007, he was projecting bringing 4,000 workers downtown and building his own headquarters skyscraper.

The recession trimmed the size and scope of that dream. Quicken opted to lease space in Compuware’s headquarters and bring about 1,700 workers downtown this month in shifts, with another 900 or so coming next Monday.

But even downsized from the initial dream, the Quicken move is exciting for metro Detroit’s core business district. And it is designed not as an isolated event, but as an example for other firms to follow.

“It can’t be just us. We can be a catalyst,” Quicken CEO Bill Emerson said Monday. “The vision that Dan and we all share is that Web-based business corridor that we think we can build down here.”

He added, “When you really think of an urban setting and getting tech-savvy folks sitting together, talking together, creating together, we think we can really create something special down here, and that’s what the focus is going to be.”

Even Monday, the benefits of Quicken’s move downtown were being felt quickly in the central city. At Canine To Five, a dog day-care operation on Cass Avenue north of downtown, owner Liz Blondy already was caring for three dogs from Quicken employees and had six more dogs scheduled within the next week.

“It is thrilling to see so many people from the suburbs, not only working downtown, but starting to utilize the area’s services,” Blondy said Monday.

After decades of losing people, downtown Detroit had made a comeback of sorts between the mid-’90s and 2006, when Detroit hosted Super Bowl XL. But then the economy crashed in 2007. Condo projects collapsed. Restaurants closed. Downtown’s office vacancy rate soared to more than 30%.

This summer, things seem to be turning around, at least tentatively. Quicken’s move brings 1,700 workers downtown. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan recently announced it would transfer 3,000 workers from its Southfield offices to the 500 and 600 towers of the Renaissance Center. A handful of new shops and restaurants, like Gulli’s CK Mediterranean Grille, are opening.

“There’s some great momentum right now,” Emerson said. “What we want to see is that momentum to continue, businesses really thinking about relocating to downtown Detroit.”

Mayor Dave Bing was among those welcoming Quicken’s employees during a ceremony in Compuware’s lobby Monday morning.

“We are excited to welcome Quicken to Detroit,” Bing said. “We look forward to them working, dining, shopping and living in the city.”

If nothing else, Quicken’s arrival brings a more youthful group of workers downtown than the traditional government, law and bank employees, said Robert Gregory, president of the Detroit 300 Conservancy, which runs Campus Martius Park. “It’ll be a more active and more fun demographic for downtown,” he said.

For Quicken’s workers, there was were the usual moving-day confusion. Painters still had drop cloths spread around some of the hallways, and everybody was learning which way to turn when they got off the elevators. But everyone seemed upbeat.

“The space is incredible,” Emerson said of the new digs in Compuware, where Quicken occupies the ninth through 12th floors of the 15-story office building. “Feedback from everybody so far has been tremendous. They love the way it looks — the colors, the openness, the views.”

Quicken’s move increases the number of people working downtown by 2% to 3%. With the results of the 2010 Census not expected until next year, nobody knows for sure how many people work downtown today, but a 2008 Census estimate suggested about 74,000 workers came downtown every day, although data analysts from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments suggest that the number is closer to 55,000. Others estimates place the true figure in between those two.

More importantly, Quicken’s move increases the number of downtown workers who eventually might invite friends and family to come downtown for dining, strolling, sporting events and other forms of entertainment and recreation.

“We can go to a game right after work,” marveled a Quicken marketing manager, Mark Smith. “It’s so nice without having to plan and say, ‘Let’s leave early.’ ”

Contact JOHN GALLAGHER: 313-222-5173 or gallagher@freepress.com

Full article

Nathan Hurst / The Detroit News

Sales of Metro Detroit homes were up 19.71 percent in April over the same month in 2007, a possible sign the region’s moribund housing market is coming back to life.

The figure is part of a report released Tuesday by Realcomp, the region’s largest multiple listing service.

Only Livingston County posted lower sales this April than last, down 2.42 percent to 161 single-family homes and condominiums sold from 165 in April 2007.

Elsewhere, transactions were up:

– In Wayne County, sales gained 25.11 percent to 1,774 units in April from 1,418 the year before. Homes sold in City of Detroit drove much of the growth; sales there rose up 71.32 percent to 932 homes from 544.

– Oakland County: Up 9.87 percent, from 1,003 to 1,102.

– Macomb County: Up 31.58 percent, from 494 to 650.

But the brisker sales haven’t necessarily boosted gains for home sellers.

Foreclosure prices have driven down the Metro Detroit average significantly. The region’s median home price has plunged 27.9 percent in April over the same month a year ago.

In Wayne County — where 857 foreclosure sales were closed in April along with 917 non-foreclosure deals — the average selling price was $28,000 compared to $102,000 in April 2007. That was driven largely by a 68.76 percent slide in Detroit, where the median price fell to $9,200 from $29,450.

Pending home sales are up for the region as well, with Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston counties all showing gains.

You can reach Nathan Hurst at (313) 222-2293 or nhurst@detnews.com.

Full Article

Detroit Area home sales up 12.8%

By GRETA GUEST • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • March 11, 2008

Sales of homes and condos in metro Detroit rose 12.8% in February as compared to a year ago, according to figures released today by Realcomp.

There were 3,591 home and condo sales in the metro area in February compared to 3,184 in the same month a year ago.

Detroit saw the greatest improvement with 804 homes and condos sold in the month compared to 538 in February 2007, a 49.4% spike.

While the area is expected to see its high foreclosure trend continue, the February sales figures are a hopeful sign for the market as spring nears.

Low interest rates and falling home prices are key reasons for the uptick in sales, said Realcomp, a Farmington Hills-based real estate listing service.

Other highlights from the February sales report include:

Macomb County sales rose 21.7% to 483 from 397.
• Oakland County sales rose 7.54% to 818 from 761.
• Livingston County sales rose 19.5% to 104 from 87.
• St. Clair County sales fell 9.4% to 87 from 96.
• Wayne County sales rose 28.1% to 1,481 from 1,156.

Contact GRETA GUEST at 313-223-4192 or gguest@freepress.com.

Detroit’s glitzy Fasion Week Gives the runway to Michigan talent

Wendy Case / Special to The Detroit News

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Every fall, the world watches as fashion designers descend on the catwalks of New York City, London, Paris and Milan to unveil their latest collections. “Fashion Week,” as it is called, is a whirlwind of flash and dash, as famous models and fashion houses mingle with industry lynchpins, press and party people.

For local fashion photographer and entrepreneur Brian Heath, bringing that same sense of excitement and opportunity to Detroit is not just wishful thinking; it’s a committed dream.

Thursday through Saturday, Heath and his volunteer staff will present the fourth annual Detroit Fashion Week at Asian Village on the city’s downtown riverfront. Though smaller in scale and focus than its heady counterparts, the event’s purpose is the same: to bring designers, models, beauty professionals and businesspeople together to create a more cohesive and prosperous atmosphere for Metro Detroit’s fashion industry.

“If you ever wanted to experience Paris or New York, or something on a little grander scale than a small fashion show in a neighborhood club, this is it,” says Heath, who estimates a nightly audience of 300 to 500. “It makes me proud, as a Detroiter, that we can present this kind of event. It’s fun and it’s beautiful.”

While Detroit Fashion Week is accessible to everyone, its goal is to put the spotlight on Michigan talent.

“We are an industry fashion show that is interested in creating business,” says Heath, a 48-year-old Detroit native who launched the event at 4731 Gallery in Detroit in 2005. “The level of talent that we have here in Michigan needs the opportunity to be seen beyond the basements that they design in and the homes that they sell from.

“Marketing is the main goal of fashion weeks across the planet,” Heath says. “With Detroit Fashion Week, we literally have the designers on the runway (in front of) store buyers.”

And like its major league namesakes, Detroit Fashion Week presents its cause with the same sparkle and glitz as those in Paris and Milan. Three days of runway shows featuring local models in couture gowns, cocktail dresses, urban street wear and casual sportswear are accompanied by after parties and VIP receptions — all in an effort to balance the classic traditions of fashion presentation with the fiscal realities of the business.

“It’s been hard for the fashion industry to be taken seriously here in Michigan because it’s just been used for entertainment for so long,” says Heath, who also works to engage area schools, businesses and agencies on the project and has attracted high-profile sponsors such as Dior and advertising agency Gail & Rice. “Through Detroit Fashion Week, we’ve actually formed a nucleus of professionals who are interested in establishing a foundation for the industry here. We want to keep Michigan natives employed in Michigan.”

Axel Harney, 30, waited in line to audition for Detroit Fashion Week as the event was gathering momentum at Asian Village a few weeks ago. As his portfolio reveals, the handsome Whitmore Lake native has modeled all over the world, but he says it’s becoming difficult for models to work in Detroit with the state’s flagging economy.

Harney hopes Detroit Fashion Week will be the shot in the arm that the local industry needs to show what it can do. “The cool thing about Detroit is that people are willing to take a chance,” says Harney, who’s one of 70-some local male and female models who’ll be walking the runways this week. “They do things that are more edgy, quirky and creative. It’s not as conservative and commercial as it is in places like Chicago.”

Fotoula Lambros of Femilia, the Ferndale-based street couture label she owns with partner Emily Thornhill, is a big supporter of Detroit Fashion Week. Femilia showed last year and will be back again this week with 10 other local, regional and national designers.

“When we did the first Fashion Week, it was amazing,” says Lambros, 25. “We revealed a 30-piece collection, and it got a huge response. People actually gave us a standing ovation.

“Brian Heath is doing a great thing by allowing designers like us to show our work,” she says. “It gives us an outlet that we couldn’t have had on our own. It’s done nothing but help us.”

Wendy Case is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.

Fashion Week at your fingertips

What: Fourth annual Detroit Fashion Week
When: Thursday-Saturday
Where: Asian Village, 521 Atwater St., Detroit
Thursday: 6 p.m. Infinity Talent Group VIP Reception followed by a runway show at 8 p.m. of bridal couture from New York City’s St. Pucchi at 8 p.m. Industry afterparty to follow.
Friday: 6:30 p.m. VIP Reception followed at 8 p.m. by a runway show featuring alternative, urban, fur and men’s and women’s sportswear by four designers. Industry afterparty to follow.
Saturday: 2 p.m. Accessory Marketplace; 6:30 p.m. VIP reception; 8 p.m. runway show featuring evening, contemporary vintage, costume, fur and men’s and women’s haute couture by six designers. Industry afterparty to follow.
Tickets: $25-$120. Prices vary depending on the show. Visit www.detroitfashionweek.com for prices and information
Call: (313) 244-3066

Designers

See the work of the following local and national designers:
Beulah Cooley, Detroit: Couture evening wear
Jill Robertson, Ferndale: Couture evening wear
Femilia, Ferndale: Couture cocktail wear
Brandi Wade, Ypsilanti: Urban couture
Kristine Fergusson, Midland: Couture bridal, evening/costume wear
Angela Mcbride, Royal Oak: Alternative California wear
Michael Humphrey, Detroit: Sports, evening wear
Tanya Seals, Atlanta: Fur jackets
Jovani of Viper Apparel, Saginaw: Couture gowns, prom dresses
Sherry Couture of Viper Apparel, Saginaw: Couture gowns, prom dresses
Rani of St. Pucchi, New York City: Couture bridal

*Article referenced to Detroit News