A couple of champions of downtown Windsor are thrilled with the news that Quicken Loans is setting up shop in the city core.
The Detroit-based mortgage company announced Monday that it's opening a technology branch of the business in the former Fish Market building on Chatham St. West at Ferry St.
Chair of the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association, Larry Horwitz says this our future and he calls the expansion into this new world of technology, combined with moves into the core by University of Windsor and St.Clair College, very exciting.
The investment by Quicken Loans will create 50 jobs with the potential for up to 100 jobs in the future.
Horwitz say's he's looking forward to the months a head.
"Excited about whatever the mayor and council bring forward to make an easier transition for these businesses to come downtown — whatever they need to make it happen, is very important," he says.
(Photo courtesy of Quicken Loans)
President and CEO Of WEtech Alliance is hoping this investment will open doors for other Detroit or U.S. based companies to follow suit.
"When you look at our tech talent here locally, we know that we need more companies to hire and attract those millennials and those recent graduates and having a company like Dan Gilbert in our back door will help us not only retain talent here in Windsor-Essex, but it will help us attract talent from areas like Kitchener-Waterloo," says Yvonne Pillon.
She calls this another piece to the overall puzzle.
"Leadership has said for a long time, it's a long-term plan and this is just one more thing to bring good paying jobs to downtown," says Pillon. "People who are very creative who will spend money downtown and hopefully move downtown — so again, I think it's a great start."
Quicken Loans expects to open the new office in March 2019.