Amazon and Lear Announce Move to Detroit

By BRENDAN KRISEL (Patch Staff)

Tech giant Amazon and auto company Lear are planning to establish offices in Downtown Detroit by fall of 2016, part of a multi-year plan to transform the city’s central business district.

Amazon, which the Detroit Free Press reported will move into several floors of the 150 W. Jefferson office tower, made its announcement at an event attended by Gov. Rick Snyder and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. During the announcement, held at Cobo Center, Peter Faricy, vice president of Amazon Marketplace, was optimistic about the move’s potential for job creation.

“We are hiring right now, full-time technology jobs,” Faricy said. “We want this to be the beginning of a technology hub.”

Lear will move into the old Brown Brothers Cigar Manufacturers building at 119 W. State St. The space will become Lear’s new innovation and design center, housing up to 150 Lear employees and contractors. Lear will move employees from its Southfield headquarters and other locations to the new building, reported Crain’s Detroit Business.

“We plan to leverage the rapidly developing infrastructure in the central business district as well as the concentration of arts, science and technology assets in the Capitol Park area to take our seating and electrical businesses to the next level,” Matt Simoncini, president and CEO of Lear, said in a statement.

The 119 W. State St. building is the first sold by Bedrock Real Estate, the company owned by Dan Gilbert. Gilbert has invested $1.7 billion in Detroit with the goal of reviving the city by transforming it into a tech and entertainment hub, according to a Forbes article. At Lear’s announcement Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan was optimistic about the revival of Detroit.

“There was a time five years ago when people thought that downtown was dead and the only person interested in buying buildings was Dan Gilbert,” Duggan said. “We said you’ll know when we’ve arrived when people start approaching Dan Gilbert and want to buy buildings from him. And today is a significant step in that direction.”

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Amazon currently has 13 available jobs listed for the Detroit area.

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