Will Quicken buy the Chase Tower?

**begingri** · December-20-10, 01:07 AM

If anyone has a taste for Detroit real estate, it seems to be Dan Gilbert.

Hot off his move to the Compuware Building and news that he has the Madison Theater Building under contract is the latest rumor that he might buy the Chase Tower.

The 447,400-square-foot Tower, at 611 Woodward, is part of the group of buildings that encircle Campus Martius.
Rumors of the sale have been around town for two weeks, though neither Quicken nor building-owner Sterling Group can confirm the deal or how close a deal might be.

Sterling Group CEO Danny Samson had this to say today:

"Quicken has been a great addition to downtown, any expansion is welcome, and would be a positive addition to downtown," he said. "We support their initiatives in Detroit."

Was that a yes? No. Was that a no? No.

Quicken's head of public relations, Paula Silver, couldn't be reached as of 3 PM Friday to comment on the Chase Tower rumor and whether or not it changes the deal to buy the Madison Theater building a few blocks to the north.

Though regarding Quicken in Detroit, the question must be asked, "where haven't they been looking?"

Word of Quicken's further expansion has been ongoing. Talk was furthered in August, when the company's director of facilities, Melissa Price, said the company has been taking tours of Downtown buildings.

The firm has another 80,000 square feet in the suburbs that it would like to bring downtown, and it has been growing the roster of companies coming out of its incubator program — a shoe company, Jimmy Kicks, for example, was announced yesterday.

Quicken officials have toured Comerica Tower, 1001 Woodward Ave. and also put in a bid on the First National Building, though did not secure the building.
In November, the company announced that it has the 48,000-square-foot Madison Theater building under contract.

A Chase Tower purchase makes sense. It's considered a Class B building by CoStar but has one of the best locations in Detroit. It's walking distance to the Compuware Building and has a view of Campus Martius.

Source: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...he-chase-tower

**Gistok** · December-20-10, 01:21 AM

The old former NBD HQ, now has the odd name "Chase Tower". When viewing it, the word tower doesn't seem to really apply... although in Detroit preservation circles it is known as "the Cheese Grater".

I know that Chase only has about 1/2 of the "tower" occupied. What are their future plans if Quicken buys the building?

I'd rather have Quicken buy an empty building as their HQ, but who knows?? They may buy into a location on Campus Martius. ... although I would have thought that they would have preferred 1001 Woodward... a real tower... with its' own parking structure.

DetroitDad · December-20-10, 04:52 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

The old former NBD HQ, now has the odd name "Chase Tower". When viewing it, the word tower doesn't seem to really apply... although in Detroit preservation circles it is known as "the Cheese Grater".

I know that Chase only has about 1/2 of the "tower" occupied. What are their future plans if Quicken buys the building?

I'd rather have Quicken buy an empty building as their HQ, but who knows?? They may buy into a location on Campus Martius. ... although I would have thought that they would have preferred 1001 Woodward... a real tower... with its' own parking structure.

Prep work for the next boom? We often have been late to get started.

**DetroitArmy** · February-02-11, 03:50 PM

Done deal, fyi

**canuck** · February-02-11, 04:00 PM

So that's a set of good news; new bldg in their sights and maybe one or a couple of shoe store implants downtown. I think Quicken might just be the injector that promotes small business clusters that would restore the CBD.

**dover627** · February-02-11, 04:23 PM

I can't find any news on this. Is it confirmed?

**313WX** · February-02-11, 05:14 PM

Wow, so Dan Gilbert is buying the Chase Tower and the Madison Building?

Wow, he must really has some big plans in store [[Detroit 2.0 still on the table?).

**esp1986** · February-02-11, 05:44 PM

I have friends that work for Quicken and the family of companies, and they say some of his plans are really big, bigger than this, but they wouldn't elaborate, as everything is still in the planning stages.

DetroitDad · February-02-11, 06:12 PM

Right, but also at least partially dependent on better mass transit/light rail.

Originally Posted by esp1986

I have friends that work for Quicken and the family of companies, and they say some of his plans are really big, bigger than this, but they wouldn't elaborate, as everything is still in the planning stages.

**Gistok** · February-02-11, 06:29 PM

The Chase Tower is one of my least favorite mid 20th century buildings in downtown...

It looks more "dated" than do some of the other contemporary buildings of that era... such as 1 Woodward Ave., 1001 Woodward, and 211 W. Fort. It was made of quality materials... but I don't care for the window configuration.... hence the "Cheese Grater" nickname.

If Quicken buys the building... I wonder where is Chase moving the folks that are housed in 1/2 the tower?

**Neilr** · February-02-11, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

The Chase Tower is one of my least favorite mid 20th century buildings in downtown...

It looks more "dated" than do some of the other contemporary buildings of that era... such as 1 Woodward Ave., 1001 Woodward, and 211 W. Fort. It was made of quality materials... but I don't care for the window configuration.... hence the "Cheese Grater" nickname.

If Quicken buys the building... I wonder where is Chase moving the folks that are housed in 1/2 the tower?

I agree with your assessment of its looks; but, to me, it's one of the most beautifully lit buildings downtown.

**stasu1213** · February-02-11, 08:12 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

The Chase Tower is one of my least favorite mid 20th century buildings in downtown...

It looks more "dated" than do some of the other contemporary buildings of that era... such as 1 Woodward Ave., 1001 Woodward, and 211 W. Fort. It was made of quality materials... but I don't care for the window configuration.... hence the "Cheese Grater" nickname.

If Quicken buys the building... I wonder where is Chase moving the folks that are housed in 1/2 the tower?

I couldn't disagree with you more. I love the design of the Chase Tower. I love the interior of the building also. Very 1950ish. Modern for the time that it was built. I hope that it will be put to good use by whomever purchase it.