There's a new trending topic in #Detroit, as tech giant Twitter announced today it is opening an office in the city's growing downtown technology district. The company's first Michigan location will be based in the M@dison Building, owned by Rock Ventures LLC, the umbrella entity formed to provide operational coordination, guidance and integration of Dan Gilbert's portfolio of companies, investments and real estate.

Based in San Francisco, Twitter is a real-time information network that connects people to the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news. The company's Detroit office will house a team of employees whose primary focus will be helping marketers and advertising agencies in Detroit leverage Twitter's Promoted Products suite of advertising products. Twitter expects to hire more employees over time as it grows its Detroit presence.

"Detroit's emerging mix of automotive and digital cultures made it a natural location for Twitter's newest office," said Adam Bain, Twitter's president of global revenue. "We're excited to work face-to-face with the city's most established brands and happy to play a role in downtown Detroit's digital renaissance."

By choosing to open a new office in downtown Detroit, Twitter adds to the rapidly growing tech district forming in the heart of the city along the "WEBward Avenue" corridor. The social media giant joins other expanding firms including Detroit Labs, a mobile app developer; Are You a Human, an alternative to squiggly CAPTCHA verifications; and UpTo, a next generation mobile calendar that allows users to share events with their social network.

Rock Ventures' full service property management firm, Bedrock Real Estate Services LLC, helped recruit Twitter and brokered the company's lease. Rock Ventures and Bedrock are seeking businesses looking to be part of an innovative, tech-focused urban core where people want to live, work and play. In the last 18 months, they have helped nearly 40 new-economy companies find a home in downtown Detroit.

"Twitter coming downtown is exactly the kind of innovative company Detroit needs to advance our vision of becoming one of the most exciting high-tech and web-centered corridors of growth and activity found anywhere," said Gilbert, Chairman of Rock Ventures and Quicken Loans, and Majority Owner of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.

"Twitter chose Detroit because of the city's growing, young and energetic environment. This is further proof that the country is starting to wake up and take notice – if you want to create a thriving, growing tech business, downtown Detroit is one of the best places to be," Gilbert added.

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