You know the feeling you get on your first day of school, or the first day of moving into a new place? You’re excited and eager to begin the next phase of your life. Everything is new to you, from the paint to the furniture and sometimes the location. That feeling was ever-present yesterday as Downtown Detroit welcomed Quicken Loans, Inc. to the Compuware building. I Am Young Detroit was invited down to take in the Day 1 experience.

CEO Dan Gilbert said the goal was to find a home where the Quicken Loans team could “innovate, think and create.” Quicken Loans, perhaps better known as “America’s home loan experts,” has found the perfect place to realize its goals in Detroit’s budding and vibrant downtown atmosphere.

Why is this a big deal for Young Detroit?

Short answer: What’s good for Detroit’s future is good for our emerging young leaders, professionals, and creatives.

As Detroit leads the national pack for unemployment, lack of jobs, and a reputation for urban decay, violence, and regional brain drain, this suggests that change is real and happening now.

For starters, Quicken Loans is one of the nation’s top companies and needless to say, Detroit could certainly benefit from housing it. The company ranks #7 On Computerworld’s 2010 “100 Best Places to Work in Technology” and is one of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the seventh consecutive time this year.

We asked a few of our readers how they felt the move impacted them as young professionals. Palencia Mobley, 30, is a project engineer who shares a parking structure with the new QL transplants. She says “I’m pleased by the new infusion of life downtown. It may mean longer wait times at some of the restaurants during lunch, however, it also means that places that were teetering on insolvency and having a difficult time making payroll will benefit from the new employees spending their money in the city”.

Not only will local restaurants and shops be impacted, but this move means 1,700 more professionals will be paying Detroit taxes; Quicken is even bumping up paychecks and paying the parking fees for all employees who drive to work. Mobley adds, “This is also very beneficial to the City of Detroit in regards to increasing the income tax revenue as well as taxes. All in all I’m pleased about the fact that Dan Gilbert has chosen to solidify the business presence downtown”.

Sean Gray, 30, is a former Quicken Loans employee who now works as a Business Consultant. “I’m excited to see a company with so much positive energy come to Downtown,” says Gray.  “As a resident, I’m excited to see the businesses that open and grow to meet the needs of Quicken Loans and Blue Cross employees in my neighborhood. My only sticking point is the notion that the owners of companies get a tax break to move their employees to Detroit where those employees will have to pay more in income taxes. My hope is that the City of Detroit spends the increased tax revenue wisely. I’m certain that this will be another positive development in Downtown Detroit’s continued revitalization”.

Leading the charge on the creative side of things is Creative Director Dave Garant. What we noticed most when talking to him was not only his message, but how enthusiastic and genuinely hyped he is about what is happening around here. This was also apparent with Mayor Dave Bing, who said, “I’ve never been more excited than I am now about Detroit.”

That’s a bold statement by the Mayor, and one that truly expresses how important this move is to Detroit, to the businesses downtown, and to creating a hub for future businesses. Monday, 700 of Quicken Loans’ employees moved into their new digs. 800 more are set to move in this Monday, and eventually over 1500 employees of Quicken Loans and their sister companies (Fathead, Quizzle, to name a couple), will occupy space in the Compuware building.

Each floor is vibrant, colorful, and thematic. The 9th floor is known as ‘the neighborhood’; 10th is ‘home court’; 11th is ‘the district’; and the 12th floor is called ‘the playground’. It’s truly an innovative and creative space, decked out with gourmet ice machines, graffiti art by local artist Tony “Shades” Agee, and the every office must-have: scratch ‘n’ sniff walls!

Gilbert said he looked at this as an opportunity to add to what great people have already done here. With the help of Mayor Bing, who pledged his support to Quicken Loans, “Webward” (Gilbert’s nickname for Woodward Ave.) will continue to grow and prosper, and, hopefully, so will the entire city of Detroit and state of Michigan. This is a positive move for Quicken Loans and for Detroit, so take a little time to drink the Kool-Aid…or, smell the walls. Your choice.

- Story by Elisse Ramey with Illustrations by Margarita Barry