Looks like he has his eyes on the former Federal Reserve Building downtown at 160 W. Fort, in the same block as the Dime. That 1951 addition is Minoru Yamasaki's first work in Detroit, I believe.
--------------

http://www.freep.com/article/20110715/BUSINESS04/107150320/Is-Federal-Reserve-building-another-Gilbert-deal-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Is Federal Reserve building another Gilbert deal?


It appears that Quicken Loans founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert may not be done buying downtown buildings.

Quicken's representatives were inspecting the former Federal Reserve Bank building at 160 W. Fort St. this week with an eye to buying it, according to a business source familiar with the building.

If Quicken moves ahead, this would mark the fifth downtown building that Gilbert has bought or placed under contract in addition to the space he leases in Compuware's building.

Quicken moved 1,700 workers downtown from the suburbs into Compuware space last year, but Gilbert has said he hopes to move an additional 2,000 workers downtown as soon as he can arrange space for them in nearby buildings.

Gilbert already has bought or placed under contract the Chase Tower, the First National Building, the Dime Building and the Madison Theatre Building. Speaking to visiting journalists a couple of weeks ago, Gilbert explained that he wants to control enough real estate to attract other companies to move downtown to turn Detroit into a hub of Internet and digital technology.

A Quicken spokeswoman said she couldn't comment on the report about the Federal Reserve building. Typically, the company says nothing about potential purchases until Gilbert has a site under contract.

Once he buys a building, though, Gilbert tends to move quickly to remake it. Dozens of construction workers were busy this month at both the Chase Tower and the Madison Theatre Building to get them ready for new retail and office tenants.

The Madison Theatre Building is already fully leased for its fall opening, including space Gilbert intends to make available to digital entrepreneurs for shared use.

Contact John Gallagher: 313-222-5173