A Glimpse At How Dan Gilbert And Quicken Loans Helped Revitalize Detroit

Dan Gilbert's plans to help support the economic recovery of the city of Detroit continued Thursday with the announcement of a $500 million investment to help revitalize city neighborhoods over the next 10 years.

What Happened: Gilbert, who owns the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and is the chairman of Rocket Companies RKT, has been a big donor and investor in the city of Detroit.

Thursday’s announcement calls for $500 million to be invested in Detroit over the next decade. The first $15 million will go toward covering delinquent property taxes in the city and pay the taxes on around 20,000 homes. 

The Quicken Loans Move: In 2007, Gilbert announced that Quicken Loans would move its headquarters from Livonia to downtown Detroit.

After not being able to come to terms to construct a new building in downtown Detroit, Quicken Loans announced plans to move its headquarters and 1,700 team members to the Compuware Building, a move that was completed in 2010.

The building, now known as One Campus Martius, is home to Benzinga headquarters. 

“The move of Quicken Loan’s headquarters to Detroit is highly anticipated. We welcome Quicken Loans and their staff to Detroit,” then-Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said at the time.

Related Link: Dan Gilbert, Jay Farner On Rocket Companies IPO: Great Starting Point

Believing In Detroit: In 2013, the city of Detroit became the largest U.S. city to declare bankruptcy. The city suffered from an economic crisis and an unemployment rate of 28%, which at the time was three times the national average.

Gilbert has invested and put his trust in the city of Detroit through several donations and projects to help revitalize Detroit. Gilbert said he wanted to make Detroit a hub of “muscles and brains,” CNBC reported.

At the time of the Rocket Companies IPO in 2020, it was unveiled in the company’s S1 how important Detroit headquarters are to Quicken Loans. 

Moving the corporate headquarters outside of Detroit would require a 75% combined vote from common shares of Rocket Companies.

In 2020, Quicken Loans and Gilbert donated $1.2 million to the city of Detroit to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Gilbert and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross each donated $5 million to Wayne State Law School in 2016. The donation from the two alumni of the school were the largest single gifts the school had ever received.

Investing In Detroit: Rock Ventures, where Gilbert serves as chairman, has invested in and acquired hundreds of properties and developments in the city of Detroit.

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With Ross, Gilbert is building the $300-million Detroit Center for Innovation on Gratiot Avenue on the eastern edge of downtown. The space, previously known as the site of an unfinished Wayne County jail project, will be turned into a collaborative space for graduate and undergraduate students.

Plans also call for the Detroit Center for Innovation to have residential units, a hotel and conference center.

Gilbert has been active in acquiring properties in Detroit and bringing large companies and their workforces to the city.

The Rocket Companies chairman has a goal of turning downtown Detroit into a walkable urban center with public plazas and the Hudson Tower skyscraper.

Through the move of Quicken Loans headquarters, investments and donations to the city of Detroit, Gilbert is well on his way to completing his goal.