It’s Goodbye Birmingham, Hello Detroit for Internet Giant Google
Detroit has its hooks into yet another internet giant, as Google announces its plans to relocate its downtown Birmingham office to the Detroit Metro area.
Detroit has seen several large internet corporations flooding to its downtown city neighborhoods—including Amazon.com, Microsoft Corp, and Quicken Loans—but Google will be the largest of the batch to date.
“There’s so much energy in this city—so much creativity, innovation and hard work—we can’t wait to be part of the day to day action and to grow with downtown Detroit,” Danielle Russell, head of Google Detroit, said this past Tuesday in a public statement. “We’ve been growing in cities all over the country, and there’s something special happening in Detroit.”
Google currently occupies a space of 17,000 square foot in its current location but is looking to expand to approximately 35,000 square feet when they make the move to Detroit. The company currently employs 100 people in their present location but announced they will be expanding their workforce, although a number has not been cited just yet.
This particular satellite office focuses primarily on automotive advertising, making it a clear choice to relocate to Detroit, the Motor City.
Despite Google leaving Birmingham, City Manager Joe Valentine believes the relocation is not only good for the internet mogul, but also for the city of Birmingham.
“This change represents a great opportunity to add to the diversity of businesses in downtown Birmingham,” he said in a statement. “The space Google is leaving is a great location and we believe some enterprising company will make Birmingham their new home in the future.”
Detroit isn’t the only expansion on the horizon for Google. They currently have 450 employees in their Ann Arbor location which is scheduled for a new, larger campus. The company just recently increased their headcounts in Chicago, Miami, Austin, and Bolder.
Google bringing its office to Detroit helps to lower occupancy rates, increase job availability, and—in turn— enhance property values.
News Source: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20171010/news01/641706/google-to-move-from-birmingham-to-downtown-detroit
Image Source: http://www.artificialbrains.com/google