LinkedIn decided to move to Detroit about 90 days ago, Johnson said; moving into a co-working space like WeWork made sense from a "flexibility standpoint," and getting a space in the downtown area right away was "a great move for us."

The company aims to bring its Detroit staff up to 30 by the end of the year and aim to employ a total of 60 by around next summer, when the team would be move into a longer-term space.

Crystal Braswell, LinkedIn's group manager, corporate communications, declined to release any figures on how much the company was planning to invest in the Detroit office.

However, LinkedIn will be looking for a space it can grow into. It wants to house all 120 employees on one or two floors, Johnson said. The decision is down to three locations, all in downtown Detroit.

The District Detroit isn't on the list, Braswell said in a message. She declined to provide more details.

The general real estate rule is that employees typically use about 250 square feet each, although that figure has been shrinking in recent years as companies move toward more condensed and collaborative workspaces. Based on that, LinkedIn is likely looking for no more than 30,000 square feet.

Another part of setting up the company's presence in the city is coordinating efforts through its philanthropy arm, LinkedIn for Good.

"Each office has a local nonprofit that they partner with," Braswell said. "They engage with that partner in unique ways, depending on what it is."

Often the organizations work with underserved youth or address economic development gaps, Braswell said. LinkedIn is about two months away from making a decision on its local philanthropic strategy.

Although LinkedIn revenue has been $1 billion to $1.1 billion, the social network has lost north of $300 million in the third and fourth quarters last year, according to Fortune .