Troy-based financial services firm Rehmann is opening its first office in the city of Detroit to appeal to employee preferences and grow its client base.

The company will begin to pull workers from its offices around metro Detroit to a 6,000-square-foot space in the newly renovated Farwell Building in Detroit's Capitol Park. After Labor Day, the office is expected to be fully operational with 30 employees, said Bryan Kearis, principal of the firm.

"A lot of our associates are interested in working in the city," he said. "We felt it was a great strategic move for us. We've always done business in Detroit, and we will continue to penetrate the Detroit market."

The employees will come from offices in Troy, Farmington Hills and Ann Arbor. Rehmann has a total of 900 employees at more than 10 offices in Michigan, Ohio and Florida. About half of them work in Southeast Michigan, Kearis said.

Founded in 1941, the firm provides tax, audit and wealth management services to a variety of clients, including in the health care, manufacturing and banking industries, as well as to government agencies.

The firm's revenue in 2018 was $143 million. Kearis declined to provide client names.

Rehmann will add to new life planned for the historic Farwell Building, at 1249 Griswold St., which sat vacant for 35 years. Lansing-based real estate developer Richard Karp is behind the renovation. Detroit-based Kraemer Design Group is the architect. A construction permit for the project was first pulled in May 2017 with a project cost estimation of $5.86 million, according to city records.

The eight-story building, opened in 1915 and designed by architect Harrie Bonnah, has residential units from the third floor up. A new restaurant called Leila, owned by Birmingham restaurateur Sameer Eid, plans to open on the ground floor later this year.

Kearis said the move won't result in any consolidation of other offices.

"The historic Farwell Building in the heart of Capitol Park is the perfect addition to our current footprint, and a draw for current and future employees," Randy Rupp, CEO of the firm, said in a news release.