entrepreneurial, technology-focused companies unlike anything seen before in our part of the country,” Gilbert said in a prepared statement. “We are more than excited to be at the core of this transformation.”
As proof of this transformation, Gilbert cites other companies’ recently announced moves to downtown Detroit, including Fathead, Gilbert’s sports logo business; In-House Realty, a real estate referral and brokerage unit that is also a Quicken subsidiary; and One Reverse Mortgage, acquired by Quicken in 2008.
Yes, they all have one thing in common, and it’s certainly not tech. It might be more appropriate to call this section of town “QUICKward Avenue.”
However, this is how a trend can begin, so I do not want to diminish its importance. It is true that between Compuware, Quicken, and all the mini-Quickens moving into one area, that part of Woodward Avenue will, indeed, continue to grow as a business center. And, if you build it, and declare it to be a tech center, then perhaps the tech companies will come.
“We are a young, energetic, new-economy growth company looking forward to benefitting from what Detroit has to offer us, and also contributing to the very exciting future of our downtown,” Todd Albery, Quizzle’s CEO, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be among the high-tech, Internet-based companies lined up along the new ‘WEBward Avenue.'”
Well, it’s a short line, but a line is forming nonetheless.
