The current buzz being reported by multiple local sites is that tech giant Microsoft is going to announce something with Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock Real Estate tomorrow involving the One Campus Martius building in downtown Detroit.
We’re going to label things “buzz” when there isn’t hard confirmation. There’s a good chance it’s happening, but it’s not for sure.
Everyone’s falling over themselves to be “first,” but here’s what we know now as of noon.
ClickOnDetroit and Crain’s are saying anonymous sources tell them it will be Microsoft, but they differ.
ClickOnDetroit says it could be moving an office or a completely new office (for context, Microsoft currently maintains an office in the suburb of Southfield).
Crain’s doesn’t shed light on that but highlights the amounts of office space in Southfield (53,000 square feet) and the projected amount in One Campus Martius (50,000) are close to the same.
The Free Press cites “inside real estate sources” and says the same thing.
No sources are directly quoted in the pieces. But nobody wants to be left behind in the OH MY GOD NEW THING click bonanza. Neither do we.
Here’s how the situation looks as of 12:20 p.m.:
There is, in fact, an announcement set for tomorrow morning. We’ll be there too. It’s gong to have Mayor Mike Duggan, Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert, and Bedrock CEO Jim Ketai.
A hint was dropped in a November interview where Dan Gilbert said that Microsoft could be exploring a move.
Additional information, 8:00 p.m.:
The national tech blog TechCrunch has jumped in the fray, with their local writer Matt Burns saying that Microsoft sources have confirmed with him that Microsoft is moving from downtown to the suburbs.
Side note – it’s almost amazing how well Gilbert works Detroit media to get a ton of coverage while saying almost nothing officially.