Gistok Member Username: Gistok
Post Number: 2700 Registered: 08-2004 Posted From: 4.229.72.42
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 1:15 pm: | |
OK, we've studied where a new Quicken/Rock Financial HQ should be located... ad nauseum. During all that debate things have really quieted down on in the media. My guess is one of either 2 things are happening... 1) home loans are doing badly locally and nationally right now, therefore Quicken is staying put... OR 2) they are in serious private negotiations on a new site (hopefully in Detroit). With all the anti-Granholm Honda ads in the media right now, the governor needs a major coup to counteract that ad. A downtown Quicken major announcement this late summer/fall would surely help her standing against DeVos, and deflect that ad. I think she is willing to give up everything including the proverbial kitchen sink to get Quicken to relocate to downtown Detroit. Not only would it be fodder for her re-election commercials, but it would help her get more Detroiters to the polls to support her by showing them that she's bringing jobs to Detroit. Granholm needs a strong Detroit vote badly in order to counteract her weak support in Macomb County. And she'll pull out all stops to get re-elected. And a stylish rendering of a nice gleaming Quicken Tower on the Detroit skyline would get a lot of mileage during the election. |
Jelk
Member Username: Jelk
Post Number: 4026 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.209.174.221
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 1:29 pm: | |
Make it a twofer and bring Enron to Detroit as well! |
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg
Post Number: 230 Registered: 12-2005 Posted From: 69.136.155.244
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 1:30 pm: | |
two differences: - the Honda opportunity was to bring new jobs to the state, the Quicken opportunity is to keep jobs from moving out of state - Quicken/Rock Financial has oversaturated the airwaves here in SE MI and unlike Honda, they may not have any "goodwill" associated with their name among undecided voters, especially with those who find themselves between a "Rock and a hard place" due to their rising ARMs and falling appraised home values. |
Dtown1 Member Username: Dtown1
Post Number: 29 Registered: 08-2006 Posted From: 69.212.172.155
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 1:32 pm: | |
She lost my vote when she couldnt get google to move into Downtown detroit. That would of been perfect in my opinion WSU, Compuware, etc. |
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw
Post Number: 2067 Registered: 02-2005 Posted From: 69.221.33.103
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 1:49 pm: | |
Well, I wouldn't vote for anyone based on whether or not they can MAKE a company move to a certain place. There's only so much a government can do. I cut Jenny no slack though. It's because she, being a democrat, doesn't endorse general policy and tax schemes which ENABLE companies to move into our state/city, and add jobs. It has been too little too late...they only way she knows to enable economic development is incentives etc. usually derived from the soon to be gone SBT. But regarding Quicken, I don't think their decision or its timing will have anything to do with the election. Perhaps a theory would be that they want a new Governor so that the market will heat up again and hopefully rub off on real estate, and will thus wait until the winter to announce any move. I wouldn't buy it. They have enough to be concerned with. And Mikeg said it exactly right in describing how, while a Quicken HQ move to Detroit is awesome for our city, it makes our state and our job numbers no better off, unless you say that the state becomes better when its biggest city has more jobs and corporations, which is true to some extent. All I know is that I am impatient and want to hear what they will do...and if Quicken doesn't move downtown, or in fact moves out of state, AND Granholm wins, then the Tigers better win the world series because not everything can go wrong at once. |
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1
Post Number: 7797 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 198.208.159.19
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 1:55 pm: | |
quote:She lost my vote when she couldnt get google to move into Downtown detroit.
One of the Google founders went to UM. The greater AA area probably has a work force that is more in line with Google's needs. The jobs are coming to the State. |
E_hemingway Member Username: E_hemingway
Post Number: 903 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.242.215.8
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:08 pm: | |
No doubt Quicken moving to downtown would be a feather in Granholm's reelection hat. Quicken moving out of state would also give DeVos more ammunition for his campaign to deflect the Amway criticism. But I doubt the election has little, if any, impact on Quicken's decision. Quicken might use the election and local economy as leverage to get the sweetest deal possible, but no way is Quicken leaving the state just so DeVos can be elected. It might, and we're talking huge conspiracy theory here, postpone its decision until after the election to screw Granholm. But if that were the case then I don't think Quicken would have even hinted at a decision this summer. Plus, Granholm has great working relationships with the state business community. She has really gone out her way to foster that type of relationship. No way Quicken goes out of its way to screw Granholm. Quicken seems much more likely to stick its neck out to help Granholm for the right deal. If Quicken were to move to downtown before the election, it would be played up as a deal that would create thousands of jobs and how diverse Michigan's economy is becoming. Keeping Quicken isn't about retaining jobs, it's about creating new ones. |
E_hemingway Member Username: E_hemingway
Post Number: 904 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.242.215.8
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:13 pm: | |
Also, no noise is a good thing. It probably means a deal is being worked out. If it were falling apart, something would have popped up in the media. |
Wazootyman Member Username: Wazootyman
Post Number: 109 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.75.220.9
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:18 pm: | |
The housing market is falling off and interest rates are rising, nation-wide. I don't think that necessarily corresponds with HQ expansion. I would find it far more likely that they'll just open an additional office and maintain their present locations. |
Mind_field Member Username: Mind_field
Post Number: 612 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 205.188.116.137
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:23 pm: | |
Oh quit being such a Livonia booster, they are leaving Livonia, get over it. |
Wazootyman Member Username: Wazootyman
Post Number: 110 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.75.220.9
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:24 pm: | |
Oh, okay. |
Magnasco Member Username: Magnasco
Post Number: 146 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 71.159.22.100
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:33 pm: | |
I thought the lease on the current space was ending, and that is why they were looking for a new spot as well. Also, as I heard it, even though the financing boom may be levelling off, they are expecting to take a bigger slice of the pie. I saw a diagram of a big circle, the market, with a little circle in it, them. They are expecting to expand and take up more space inside the big circle. So expansion is still possible, and IMHO on the horizon. |
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus
Post Number: 263 Registered: 06-2006 Posted From: 24.169.224.43
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:35 pm: | |
In response to what someone said about the Governor not getting Google to move downtown... I don't know that DeVos' focus will be much on downtown...he's from Grand Rapids I think...for all I know, he may view Detroit as an unsalvageable dying city... At least Gran holm has connections to Detroit from being a U.S. Attorney for the Easter Dist. and Wayne County corp. counsel I worry that his focus will be on other parts of the state and not so much on Detroit... |
Spitty Member Username: Spitty
Post Number: 480 Registered: 07-2004 Posted From: 136.2.1.101
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:40 pm: | |
Maybe Granholm doesn't want to piss off Livonia voters or other voters across the state who think that too many tax dollars are wasted on Detroit. I kind of get the feeling that a lot of people in Michigan think that Detroit gets hand outs that it doesn't deserve, and that the state investing in the city is a waste of money. |
Neilr Member Username: Neilr
Post Number: 332 Registered: 06-2005 Posted From: 68.60.139.212
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:47 pm: | |
Several Fridays ago, I noticed cars being directed into the garage under the Hudson's site and also into the Compuware garage off Monroe. I asked one of the young men directing the cars what was going on and he said that Rock Financial was hosting a meeting at the State Theater for its employees. It was a beautiful, clear afternoon. There were lots of people on the sidewalks, Campus Martius was full of life, people were eating on the sidewalk outside the Woodward Grill, the streets were clean, and downtown Detroit looked good. |
Jelk
Member Username: Jelk
Post Number: 4028 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.209.174.221
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:51 pm: | |
Giving interest-only mortgages to people with suspect credit. That's a sustainable business model. Even if they do sell off their loans, I don't believe Quicken is anything more than a disposable corporation. YEAH DETROIT...or Livonia...or Cleveland or whatever sucker gets these bastards. It will be fun, these next few months, watching that first round of smart-arms come do as the economy seems to be getting worse. What the monthly mortgage payment just quadrupled and my pay and benefits have been cut! Recipe for success if I've ever heard one. |
Hamtramck_steve Member Username: Hamtramck_steve
Post Number: 3212 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 136.181.195.17
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:51 pm: | |
Well, there we have it then. The guy waving cars into the garage can't be wrong. The proverbial "man on the street" indeed! |
Wazootyman Member Username: Wazootyman
Post Number: 111 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.75.220.9
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:51 pm: | |
He is from Grand Rapids, and trust me, west-siders don't care much for him. I don't particularily think either candidate is worth anything. Granholm has to worry about Livonia's vote more than Detroit's. Detroit would overwhelmingly vote for the Democrat even if their candidate was a telephone booth with a face taped to it. |
Wazootyman Member Username: Wazootyman
Post Number: 112 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.75.220.9
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:53 pm: | |
They did indeed have a meeting at the State Theater, followed by an private after-party at the Post in Comerica Park. Several months back they had a meeting at the Max M. Fisher Music Center. Dan Gilbert likes to have his company-wide meetings downtown. |
Jelk
Member Username: Jelk
Post Number: 4029 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.209.174.221
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 2:57 pm: | |
I didn't realize there was a Post in Comerica Park. Then again, I've never been one for corporate motivation two-minutes hate type activities. |
Wazootyman Member Username: Wazootyman
Post Number: 113 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.75.220.9
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 3:02 pm: | |
You know, I could be wrong. That's what the girl told me, but I don't recall ever hearing about it otherwise. She did originally tell me that the first meeting was at the Fisher Bldg. vs. The Max, so I wouldn't necessarily trust the location. Maybe she meant State Bar? |
Sharmaal Member Username: Sharmaal
Post Number: 910 Registered: 09-2004 Posted From: 136.2.1.101
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 3:06 pm: | |
Wazootyman is correct. Last year a good friend of mine at Quicken was downtown a few times for those sort of events. |
Wilus1mj Member Username: Wilus1mj
Post Number: 105 Registered: 05-2005 Posted From: 216.111.89.3
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 3:11 pm: | |
Fifth Avenue at COPA, not the Post. |
Sharmaal Member Username: Sharmaal
Post Number: 911 Registered: 09-2004 Posted From: 136.2.1.101
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 3:11 pm: | |
The Marquee at the State said something about Quciken Loans. If they had a party afterwards they may have been at 5th Ave. |
E_hemingway Member Username: E_hemingway
Post Number: 905 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.242.215.8
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 3:13 pm: | |
I think the smart money is still on Quicken moving to downtown. Now where downtown, Hudsons or Statler site, is still up for grabs in my opinion. |
Susanarosa Member Username: Susanarosa
Post Number: 1114 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 208.39.170.78
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 3:17 pm: | |
Is that smart-arm money? |
Sharmaal Member Username: Sharmaal
Post Number: 912 Registered: 09-2004 Posted From: 136.2.1.101
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 3:28 pm: | |
Duh-Dush! Susanarosa - "I'll be here all night folks. 10 o'clock show is different from the 7 o'clock show. Try the Veal. Tip your waiters". |
Wazootyman Member Username: Wazootyman
Post Number: 114 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.75.220.9
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 4:04 pm: | |
Ah right, yes it was 5th Avenue, that's what I meant to say. I was confusing my "Downtown Novi" bar names. |
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan
Post Number: 4241 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 67.177.81.18
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 4:22 pm: | |
Why oh why from post #1 was this made into a political debate? It didn't have to be, and isn't. This issue and the Honda issue are different as many have pointed out. This is more of a local thing, than anything, if it even has anything to do with politics. Sickening. |
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg
Post Number: 232 Registered: 12-2005 Posted From: 69.136.155.244
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 4:28 pm: | |
Umm, maybe because it is an election year? "All Politics is local" - Tip O'Neil |
Gistok Member Username: Gistok
Post Number: 2704 Registered: 08-2004 Posted From: 4.229.72.42
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 4:57 pm: | |
Lmichigan, before you get your knickers in a twist.. since when did the politicians start thinking logically about what to use as political ammunition for elections? If this deal does go thru, Granholm WILL make a big deal of it for her re-election. Why? She's short on rebuttals for DeVos campaign attacks on Granholm's job success. Politicians have a way to make a meal out of a morsel. Detroit (90% Democratic) matters more than any other city in Michigan for Granholm. Remember back in 1990 when CAY was pissed at Blanchard, and CAY stayed on the sidelines in the governors race (and didn't get out the Detroit vote)... guess who got elected.... Engler. So all I said is that she will do her darndest to get Quicken to downtown (giving away the proverbial "store"). An out of state move would not help her reelection chances. She badly needs a recent economic success. Something that the papers will plaster all over their front pages (like the Compuware deal under Archer). Now how pray tell, is all that sickening? |
Rjk Member Username: Rjk
Post Number: 456 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 68.41.145.5
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 4:58 pm: | |
So getting QL to move downtown is going to get Detroiters excited about Granholm and is going to get the Detroit vote out? Detroiters overwelmingly vote for Democrats so she certainly wasn't going to lose votes to devos in Detroit. The idea that QL moving downtown is going to have any measurable impact at all on the number of Detroiters who vote is laughable. Obviously most people on this message board are excited about whats happening downtown, but I'm guessing that people living throughout the neighborhoods of Detroit have much bigger fish to fry than geting excited about some 3,500 people (many of them suburbanites) working downtown. |
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw
Post Number: 2069 Registered: 02-2005 Posted From: 69.221.33.103
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 5:17 pm: | |
But a QL HQ is an "economic success" for Detroit, not our governor. Regardless of what happens, I assure you that more Detroiters will vote for a Republican governor candidate than in the last several elections. I'll eat those words if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty confident about this. |
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg
Post Number: 233 Registered: 12-2005 Posted From: 69.136.155.244
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 5:24 pm: | |
US Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Detroit) pulls the string on "Chatty Jenny", who responded with, "Nothing should come between Detroit and Michigan but a comma!" The performance was met with a roaring stamp of approval from the assembled crowd at the Granholm for Governor re-election rally held Thursday afternoon, Aug. 24, 2006, at Campus Martius in Detroit. |
Gistok Member Username: Gistok
Post Number: 2706 Registered: 08-2004 Posted From: 4.229.72.42
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 5:38 pm: | |
Granholm could very well lose this election. Rjk, if she appears to be bringing jobs to Detroit, then more Detroiters would vote for her, since as we know, Detroit is hurting. I don't think that Detroiters are going to vote for DeVos in very large numbers. If anything, they'll stay away from the poles, hence my comment about 1990 and Engler. That year Detroiters stayed away from the poles, and Engler won. She's got to do more to get the (ever shrinking) Detroit vote out in order to have a shot at beating DeVos. And of course she can't ignore the rest of the region, or show that she's too chummy with Detroit, a balancing act, at best. |
Motorcitymayor2026 Member Username: Motorcitymayor2026
Post Number: 1186 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 35.11.221.92
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 6:00 pm: | |
Go Jenny! |
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia
Post Number: 618 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.216.143.252
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 8:21 pm: | |
Yes, Please Go! |
Motorcitymayor2026 Member Username: Motorcitymayor2026
Post Number: 1189 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 35.11.221.92
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 9:03 pm: | |
hah |
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 583 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 35.12.21.191
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 11:19 pm: | |
I'll echo Gistok's comments. In an at-large election you can never have too many votes. Granholm can't take the Detroit vote for granted; sure, most Detroiters won't vote for DeVos, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll vote for Granholm if she's invisible. She needs to be out there shaking hands and working the churches. |
Tonym Member Username: Tonym
Post Number: 124 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 207.181.6.226
| Posted on Saturday, August 26, 2006 - 12:41 am: | |
Jenny is a Godsend compared to Engler when it comes to Detroit Love. Remember Engler? He loathed the city as I recall. |
Gistok Member Username: Gistok
Post Number: 2708 Registered: 08-2004 Posted From: 4.229.90.34
| Posted on Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 5:47 pm: | |
Although I didn't care for Engler either, he did do one thing that most forumers probably agree with. Making the former GM HQ in New Center the State Of Michigan Office Building. Granted, it emptied out other buildings, but having an empty former GM Building would have really been bad for New Center. Ever since I visited the State of Illinois Center in Chicago (a 17 story modern round building with an atrium going up all 17 stories), I had always wished that the State of Michigan would have a grand office building in Detroit. Well now they do! |
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 586 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 35.9.3.86
| Posted on Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 6:26 pm: | |
The only thing I'll add, Gistok, is that it should have been called the Durant Building. That was what the GM Building was originally supposed to be named before Billy Durant lost control of the company for the second time. Indeed, the letter "D" is carved into the stone at several locations near the top. The name Cadillac has gotten plenty of exposure, but Durant has never gotten nearly the credit nor recognition he deserves. Granted, he proved better at putting companies together rather than running them. But the average person nowadays probably doesn't have a clue who Durant was. |
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup
Post Number: 1295 Registered: 06-2004 Posted From: 69.130.18.100
| Posted on Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 9:53 pm: | |
well for a state building Cadillac (as in Antoine, not GM) is more appropriate |
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 587 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 35.12.20.235
| Posted on Monday, August 28, 2006 - 12:11 am: | |
Why? Yes, I know that the building was named after Cadillac the founder and not Cadillac the car. But Durant would have been just as appropriate, if not moreso. He was just as crucial to the history of this state as Cadillac was. Cadillac has already had the car division named after him, Cadillac Square, Cadillac Tower, the Book-Cadillac Hotel, the city of Cadillac, etc. |
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan
Post Number: 4261 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 67.177.81.18
| Posted on Monday, August 28, 2006 - 12:32 am: | |
Durant just doesn't roll off the tongue like Cadillac. Sounds a little too blunt. But, if you want to you can come visit Durant Park in downtown Lansing with the Durant Memorial Arch. |
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 588 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 35.12.20.235
| Posted on Monday, August 28, 2006 - 12:36 am: | |
Lmichigan-- Yep, I've driven by the Durant Park arch several times. I gather that it was restored/spruced up recently. One reason I've always been aware of how Durant is nearly forgotten is that I grew up in Flint and was reading about him by the time I was in 3rd grade. Basically the first abandoned building that fascinated me was Flint's Durant Hotel. |
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan
Post Number: 4262 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 67.177.81.18
| Posted on Monday, August 28, 2006 - 1:33 am: | |
Your Durant is alot like how Oldsmobile is revered here in Lansing, still. Yeah, Durant Arch was recently restored, it is has a really classy sign lit at night, now. It's really kind of ironic, because it can not be seen coming down 1-way Saginaw as the sign points the other way. lol |