After 20 years in Southfield and two years in the planning stages, Microsoft officially opened its new regional headquarters in Downtown Detroit with a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday.

About 450 employees relocated to the 50,000-square-foot office in 1 Campus Martius.

"The spirit, the vibe, the innovation, the creative and the culture down here has been a completely different experience just in three weeks," said Microsoft Regional Vice President Tracy Galloway after the ribbon cutting ceremony.

"We want to be a part of that technology revitalization that's happening here," said Galloway.

Fifty different companies have already explored Microsoft's new technology center, which features "community and collaboration spaces" to help solve business problems.

"There's all these startups and fun companies here. We're able to come together and we look at how we solve problems together using technology," said Galloway, who imagines more collaborations with Downtown tech startups.

The center features eight different collaboration rooms and design spaces with smart boards that transcribe content onto computers.

The office also includes three kitchens, a Shinola clock and a life-sized version of Halo's Master Chief overlooking over phone booth-style cubbies.

"It's huge to have Microsoft down here," said Bedrock CEO Jim Ketai, whose real estate team helped convince the company to make the move.

"It's really a strong statement to lure other technology companies to come down and the more and more announcements we have the more people are starting to say, wow that's really the place to be."

Microsoft celebrated the opening with a $2 million software grant to Detroit nonprofit Southwest Solutions. The group serves 20,000 people across Southeast Michigan with education, human services and community development.

Microsoft executives also said they plan to focus on helping Detroit youth look at technology differently way by partnering in more STEM education.