Quicken Loans is bringing more than 1,700 new employees to downtown. It's bringing a new attitude for doing business.
The mortgage firm and its four subsidiaries (
FatHead,
One Reverse Mortgage,
In-House Realty and
Quizzle) are taking over four floors and transforming them into a dynamic work space that fits more into Silicon Valley than the Rustbelt. The new space comes complete with bright colors, comfortable chairs, a loft-style look and graffiti on the floors.
"Allowing your space to become dated brings down the energy," says Melissa Price, director of facilities and business office at
Quicken Loans. "We're a company that is all about the energy."
Corktown-based graffiti artist
Antonio "Shades" Agee created 19 classic graffiti murals of Quicken Loan's isms (company sayings) on a combination of concrete two-foot-by-two-foot panels. The art is on floors of the company's kitchens, copy rooms and other common areas. Company officials gave Agee a free hand to create the art.
"We just let him go and he did it," says Dave Garant, creative director of Quicken Loans.
The question is will company officials let their employees go and personalize the rest of the space? As it stands now the offices are quite Googlesque in appearance, such as the life-size man/woman bathroom images or adult bean bag chairs. But they retain a corporate feel because they, as of now, lack the personal touch of individual employee creativity prevalent in other local new economy-based firms, such as
QuackMedia.
That could change soon now that Quicken Loans begins to move into its new digs in the Compuware Building. All 1,700 employees should be in downtown within the next 30-45 days. Quicken Loans is looking at establishing its own space within a few years. Until then its leadership is looking at other options to accommodate its growth.
Source: Melissa Price, director of facilities and business office at Quicken Loans and Dave Garant, creative director of Quicken Loans
Writer: Jon Zemke
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