Fifth Third Bank to move to downtown Detroit

Fifth Third Bank Eastern Michigan announced Tuesday it is moving its regional headquarters and 150 full-time employees from Southfield to downtown Detroit.

The bank is the latest suburban-based company to move downtown, and the latest to move into real estate -- the One Woodward Building -- that is owned and operated by businessman Dan Gilbert's Bedrock Real Estate Services.

Fifth Third officials said they are not receiving any tax breaks or relocation incentives from Detroit to make the move, scheduled to begin in early spring and finish by summer 2016. The bank currently leases in the 1000 building of the Southfield Town Center, and intends to keep about 20,000 square feet there.

It will lease four floors in One Woodward Building, which will be renamed Fifth Third Bank at One Woodward.

"Fifth Third has long been a citizen of Detroit's neighborhoods, having built numerous branches within city limits during the past decade," said David Girodat, president and CEO of Fifth Third Bank Eastern Michigan. "Now that we've established a footprint in the city, we wanted to move our headquarters to be part of the downtown movement and contribute to the remarkable resurgence Detroit is experiencing."

Along with the move, Girodat announced that Fifth Third is committing to $85 million in economic development investments in Detroit over the next five years and would help the city revitalize Hart Plaza in yet-to-be-determined ways.

The $85 million in investments includes small business lending, tax credit investments and contributions. The initiative is called 5/3 in the D, and includes more than $1 million in upgrades and renovations to the Northwest Activities Center at 18100 Meyers.

An upbeat Dan Gilbert hailed the move downtown from Fifth Third's previous regional location in Southfield.

""Fifth Third Bank's relocation to downtown Detroit is further confirmation that the center of southeast Michigan's business community is in the urban core," he said.

Mayor Mike Duggan added, "Detroit continues to experience a wave of business confidence unlike anything we have seen in decades."

Fifth Third Bank Eastern Michigan is one of 15 affiliate banks in 12 states operated by the parent Fifth Third Bancorp, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Fifth Third Bank Eastern Michigan

Area covered: Eight Southeast Michigan counties in Detroit region

Total Assets: $4.2 billion

Size: 92 branches and 150 ATMs

Employees: More than 800

Free Press Business Writer JC Reindl contributed to this report.