Rocket Mortgage is scaling back its physical presence in Downtown Cleveland as the company moves to a smaller office space. The firm will vacate its current 115,000-square-foot location at the Higbee Building at the end of this year. Instead, operations will shift to a 32,000-square-foot office at 250 West Huron, a building owned by Bedrock, which is also part of Dan Gilbert’s Rock Ventures umbrella.
This transition marks a significant reduction in the company's local footprint. Five years ago, the outlook was much different. At that time, Rocket Mortgage received significant financial incentives from city and state governments with the goal of creating hundreds of new jobs and potentially anchoring a new tower in the downtown area. Plans for such expansion did not materialize as expected due to changes in the housing market and shifting corporate policy.
The mortgage industry faced a difficult period as interest rates climbed from historic lows near 3 percent in 2021 to nearly 8 percent by the end of 2023. This downturn forced Rocket Mortgage to cut its workforce significantly across the country. Locally, the company saw its Cleveland-based staff drop to approximately 250 employees. The adoption of a hybrid work model, where staff work from the office only part of the week, also contributed to the reduced need for large floorplates.
Rocket Mortgage is investing $5 million into interior renovations for its new space at 250 West Huron. The project involves a full demolition of the existing third-floor interior, HVAC system replacements, and upgrades to electrical and plumbing infrastructure. This move keeps the company within the Bedrock-owned property portfolio. While the firm met initial job creation targets in 2021, the subsequent contraction reflects the broader volatility within the mortgage sector.