DETROIT-About 1,700 employees of Rock Holdings Inc., whichincludes subsidiaries Quicken Loans, Rock Gaming and Fathead, beganmoving in today into four floors of the 1.1-million-square-footCompuware building Downtown. The move is heralded as anothermuch-needed success story for the struggling Motor City, with its30% office vacancy rate, though this move is less than the newoffice tower that CEO Dan Gilbert had wanted to build in 2007.

Rock will occupy about 244,000 square feet of the 15-storybuilding, taking the ninth through 12th floors. Constructed in 2003for $350 million, the complex at the center of the Campus Martiusdistrict is of the few new office towers built in the past 20 yearsin Detroit.

Though two new sports stadiums were finished in the past decadedowntown, General Motors moved its headquarters to the iconicRenaissance Center and the New Center area has been spruced up,many of even the most popular office buildings have struggled toavert foreclosure and the population has continued to shrink. Evenmajor chain grocery stores have stayed away from the city.