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