The business that traded a Farmington Hills office park for urban energy celebrates its 10th year downtown with a video hug for the city.
Compuware relocated thousands of suburban workers to its new global headquarters downtown -- a pioneering move in 2003.
Compuware, which kick-started a decade-long migration to downtown's commercial core, this week posted a nearly six-minute tribute to downtown's revitalization, titled "A Pleasant Surprise."
That phrase refers to the reaction of some Compuware workers who were skeptical -- OK, wary -- about the move back in 2003 when Campus Martius wasn't a lively work-play environment of new restaurants, midday music, food trucks, a beach-like terrace and throngs of workers.
The video, which no doubt will serve as a recruiting tool, says Compuware came downtown "to enrich its culture and become part of Detroit's revitalization."
Here's an excerpt from the description posted on YouTube:
Watch what good, hard-working owners and employees from pubs, eateries and jazz clubs, to coffee houses and specialty markets, to technology companies and city resource centers have to say about living, working and simply enjoying Detroit's revitalized downtown and urban social scene. Understand why our great city has such a growing appeal for big businesses, young entrepreneurs and college-educated professionals.
Downtown Detroit has heart and soul — and it beats stronger every day. Go ahead: Watch our video. We bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Just one detail is understandably missing, as Matt Roush notes Wednesday at the WWJ Technology Report: "No buyout talk, of course."
Deadline Detroit received startup financing from the Compuware Ventures division.
