IT firm coming to 1001 Woodward

**Huggybear** · April-20-10, 07:44 AM

Anyone see this?

http://detnews.com/article/20100420/...obs-to-Detroit

**esp1986** · April-20-10, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by Huggybear

Anyone see this?

http://detnews.com/article/20100420/...obs-to-Detroit

This is great news. Hopefully more companies follow them there. This is has got to be a possible destination for the left over Quicken employees they won't be able to sardine into the Compuware Building. There has been work going on at 1001 for a while now. I heard a few months back that they were renovating a few floors at a time, as needed, so we finally see that there was a purpose for it. This building has an absolutely beautiful elevator lobby, with marble and the works, really in very nice shape too, only the office space was really in need of modernization.

**dtowncitylover** · April-20-10, 08:34 AM

I could never see 1001 Woodward being luxury condos. This is good news. I like that company's plan to hire in economically stressed areas, Detroit being the poster child for such.

**esp1986** · April-20-10, 09:12 AM

Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

I could never see 1001 Woodward being luxury condos. This is good news. I like that company's plan to hire in economically stressed areas, Detroit being the poster child for such.

Well after seeing some of the condo projects that have fallen apart or not gotten off the ground, I don't think that is a problem now... 1001, Griswold, Broderick, Cadillac Centre, Book Tower...

**Jimaz** · April-20-10, 11:20 AM

I found it interesting that he felt it necessary to say he doesn't consider Compuware a competitor. I wonder what Compuware thinks about this. Might they work together on some projects?

GalaxE.Solutions

**esp1986** · April-20-10, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

I found it interesting that he felt it necessary to say he doesn't consider Compuware a competitor. I wonder what Compuware thinks about this. Might they work together on some projects?

GalaxE.Solutions

Well, they aren't a direct competitor... I'm sure they certainly compete for some of the same types of business. But in the big picture, we have recognizable tech based companies locating downtown, with Quicken to follow and leasing at 1001 Woodward expected by quite a few people to take off now, things are looking about as rosy as we have seen them recently downtown.

**Detroitnerd** · April-20-10, 11:53 AM

Skipper's?

**WALD0123** · April-20-10, 12:14 PM

Sounds like it's all but a done deal and I'm glad to hear it. With the proper ownership/management, there's no reason 1001 can't be one of the better performing buildings downtown.

Not sure how they plan on squeezing 500 people into 28,000 square feet unless it's a call center. I suppose they could just be starting with the two floors and and have options to expand over the 5 years.

**ASR89** · April-20-10, 12:14 PM

Good news for Detroit IMO.

**MotownSpartan** · April-20-10, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by WALD0123

Sounds like it's all but a done deal and I'm glad to hear it. With the proper ownership/management, there's no reason 1001 can't be one of the better performing buildings downtown.

Not sure how they plan on squeezing 500 people into 28,000 square feet unless it's a call center. I suppose they could just be starting with the two floors and and have options to expand over the 5 years.

Is this just a call center? Are we bringing knowledge based jobs to the city or call center jobs?

**p1acebo** · April-20-10, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by MotownSpartan

Is this just a call center? Are we bringing knowledge based jobs to the city or call center jobs?

According to the article it doesn't seem like it is just call center jobs... but I guess we will see.

**esp1986** · April-20-10, 12:50 PM

Originally Posted by MotownSpartan

Is this just a call center? Are we bringing knowledge based jobs to the city or call center jobs?

With the average salary being $63,000 a year, there's no way in hell it's a call center. Article says jobs will be in software development.

**detmsp** · April-20-10, 12:51 PM

with an average salary of $60,000+ [[from the article) I doubt it's a call center.

**MotownSpartan** · April-20-10, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by detmsp

with an average salary of $60,000+ [[from the article) I doubt it's a call center.

Yes but if you have one "manager" making 200,000 and 4 "workers" each making 25,000/per year, your average salary is 75k per year, even though 80% of the workers are making 25k a year [[this is just an example, I have no idea how this company actually functions but I would be interested in seeing the median salary figure). Furthermore, this company operates out of Bangalore, India [[among other locations) and has said in the past that it's looking for "low cost" employment centers. Detroit may be cheaper than other areas but doing business in the city is still expensive as a result of taxes, bureaucracy, etc -- even Dave Bing has acknolwedged as much in his State of the City speech. I'm also suspicious of the quote regarding wanting to help train distressed workers, as this is a for profit business, I wonder where the profit is in training distressed workers. If this were a non-profit, I'd be less suspicious of that quote. Finally, one of the interviewees states that a college degree isn't necessary for software development positions, again, are these knowledge based jobs or something else [[not that one needs a college degree to hold a knowledge based job)?

I don't want to be too pessimistic on this whole thing, I've just been around long enough in Detroit/Michigan to see how over touted these MEGA/DEGC releases are when it comes to inflating job numbers and puffing up projects. I wish GalaXe nothing but the best.

**dtowncitylover** · April-20-10, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by MotownSpartan

Furthermore, this company operates out of Bangalore, India [[among other locations) and has said in the past that it's looking for "low cost" employment centers.

Just because they operate out of Bangalore, doesn't mean they're any less of a company. India is high-tech heaven.

**MotownSpartan** · April-20-10, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

Just because they operate out of Bangalore, doesn't mean they're any less of a company. India is high-tech heaven.

Totally agree but I worry that they see Detroit as a Bangalore of America in terms of shifting cheaper/commoditized work here and training lower skill workers and then paying them a low wage. I hope this isn't the case; we have the ability and resources here to attract the very best jobs and talent.

**Mind field** · April-20-10, 01:51 PM

"Seemingly" good news. But i'd be willing to bet anyone in five years time there will not be 500 workers downtown working with this company. These job projections NEVER come to fruition.

**kryptonite** · April-20-10, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by Mind field

"Seemingly" good news. But i'd be willing to bet anyone in five years time there will not be 500 workers downtown working with this company. These job projections NEVER come to fruition.

There was an article in the Detroit News or Crain's back in the 90's about that very thing. That only approximately 40% of estimated jobs ever materialize when these announcements are made.

Still, even if this company only brings 100-200 jobs here that's good news. Particularly considering they are technology related jobs, not automotive jobs - which are the types of jobs Michigan is going to need to attract to diversify the economy here.

**DetroitPlanner** · April-20-10, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by esp1986

With the average salary being $63,000 a year, there's no way in hell it's a call center. Article says jobs will be in software development.

IT folks work differently than normal people. They do a significant amount of telecommuting and often work at odd hours. Technically they might have 500 people working there, but there could be only 200 permanent work stations that they share. At first glance $63k a year would be a boon to the local economy through additional taxes, and purchases but since many of these worker will not be working on site much of that income tax would be lost and retail sales as well.

**Packman41** · April-20-10, 06:49 PM

Damn, so the MEGA Board is going to lower GalaXe's by $4.6 million and they will bring in 500 jobs. So maybe they ought to lower everyone's taxes and create even more jobs. Just sayin'.

**detmsp** · April-20-10, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by MotownSpartan

Totally agree but I worry that they see Detroit as a Bangalore of America in terms of shifting cheaper/commoditized work here and training lower skill workers and then paying them a low wage. I hope this isn't the case; we have the ability and resources here to attract the very best jobs and talent.

I'm not so worried about that... I mean if they are shitty jobs with shitty pay, then either a) people won't take them because they can make more elsewhere and the company will fold or raise wages... or b) people will take the jobs because they have no other option, so thank god that shitty job is there because it's far better than no job

DetroitDad · April-21-10, 12:52 AM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

I found it interesting that he felt it necessary to say he doesn't consider Compuware a competitor. I wonder what Compuware thinks about this. Might they work together on some projects?

GalaxE.Solutions

I guess there can also be positives for companies of the same industry to locate near each other even if they are competitors, to share resources that are numerous, share resources and infrastrucutre that are industry specific and hard or expensive to duplicate, and help supply and demand from single suppliers. In other words, a group of like companies could all benefit from locating in the same geographic region by all renting the same infrastructure or buy from the same supllier at different times, instead of each building there own infrastructure, or each competing company buying from seperate suppliers).

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · April-21-10, 02:28 AM

What on Earth is wrong with a call center job? Are fully employed doctors, engineers, and corporate CEOs going to willingly jump to a call center job? No. People who make less than a call center pays [[i.e., the unemployed/ underemployed) will take call center jobs. It is absurdly arrogant for anyone who cares about a city with catastrophic unemployment [[several generations of some families have not worked), and literally thousands of empty buildings to look down on any job.

Here in New York, last year a plan was killed to convert an old armory into a shopping center, largely because the developer wouldn't commit to paying everyone who worked there $10/hr. So, in that vacant eyesore in the South Bronx- with neighborhood unemployment over 40%- will remain vacant in the name of protecting people who make no money whatsoever from making $8/hr.

Note to everyone who favors "living wage" laws and other such nonsense, YOU NEED A BOTTOM RUNG ON A LADDER IN ORDER TO CLIMB IT. Let's not look down on jobs!

DetroitDad · April-21-10, 03:41 AM

Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

What on Earth is wrong with a call center job? Are fully employed doctors, engineers, and corporate CEOs going to willingly jump to a call center job? No. People who make less than a call center pays [[i.e., the unemployed/ underemployed) will take call center jobs. It is absurdly arrogant for anyone who cares about a city with catastrophic unemployment [[several generations of some families have not worked), and literally thousands of empty buildings to look down on any job.

Here in New York, last year a plan was killed to convert an old armory into a shopping center, largely because the developer wouldn't commit to paying everyone who worked there $10/hr. So, in that vacant eyesore in the South Bronx- with neighborhood unemployment over 40%- will remain vacant in the name of protecting people who make no money whatsoever from making $8/hr.

Note to everyone who favors "living wage" laws and other such nonsense, YOU NEED A BOTTOM RUNG ON A LADDER IN ORDER TO CLIMB IT. Let's not look down on jobs!

Hear, hear, I agree!