WPP has announced that it will create a Campus in the historic Marquette Building in downtown Detroit. The new co-location will allow WPP’s agencies to benefit from and contribute to the transformation underway in the city.
The Detroit Campus will accommodate up to 1,000 of WPP’s people, bringing together its agencies in the city including GTB, VMLY&R, Burrows, Hudson Rouge, Iconmobile, Xaxis and Zubi. They will work with WPP’s largest client, Ford Motor Company, as well as other clients. WPP’s Campus will be near Ford’s own planned campus in the Corktown district of Detroit. WPP will also retain a presence in Dearborn, MI, when the Detroit Campus opens in late 2020.
WPP is leasing 150,000 square feet, encompassing nine floors, in the refurbished Marquette Building. The building, located at 243 West Congress Street, was built in 1905 and named after Jacques Marquette, the French explorer who led an expedition to map the Mississippi River in 1673. The listed building, which was saved from demolition in 1979 and restored in 1982, is directly across from the TCF Center (formerly Cobo Hall & Center), in the heart of thriving downtown Detroit.
Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: “We are pleased that this project will be part of the ongoing economic and cultural revitalization of the city of Detroit. As a company driven by creativity and technology, we employ people in a broad range of communications services, such as advertising and media, public relations, data investment management and customer experience. As the renewal of Detroit accelerates, we hope to become a destination for creative thinkers and innovators, contributing to job growth and diversification in the market while advancing the goals of our clients.”
WPP-owned BDG architecture + design will design the interior office space. The Detroit project will target a “Gold” LEED rating.
When operational, the Detroit Campus will be WPP’s tenth in North America and the fifth to be unveiled in the last two years, reflecting WPP’s commitment to invest in its largest market. By 2023, there will be 85,000 people in 40 campus locations worldwide. This year, in addition to Detroit, WPP has opened or announced co-locations in Düsseldorf, Paris, Amsterdam, Manchester (UK), Mumbai, Gurugram, San Francisco and, most recently, Madrid.