GalaxE.Solutions CEO Tim Bryan became something of a star earlier this month at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual Mackinac Policy Conference, where he rarely passed up an opportunity tout the benefits of doing business in Detroit as he explained the New Jersey-based IT company’s decision to open an office in the former First Federal of Michigan building at Campus Martius.

Those benefits appear to be paying off, as Bryan announced today that GalaxE.Solutions has signed an agreement to design custom software out of its Detroit office for a “major, national healthcare company.”

“This commitment reinforces our vision and model for companies in the United States which see the benefit of doing business in Detroit rather than off-shore,” Bryan said in a released statement. “This marks the next step in the realization of downtown Detroit as a vibrant IT hub, including in the expanding healthcare field.”

GalaxE also has offices in Toronto and Bangalore, India, but Bryan has been praising Detroit, where under-employed skilled workers and low overhead costs provide an alternative to outsourcing IT work overseas.

“The cost basis in Detroit, for resources, for infrastructure, for real estate, is much closer now to many of the offshore locations,” Bryan told WWJ last month. “And many of our client contracts call for work to be performed onshore. So this move helps us deliver increased client value while also helping to rebuild the city.”

GalaxE recently hired its first 20 employees for its Detroit office and hopes to hire 500 over the next five years. The new healthcare contract is expected to involve at least 30 full-time systems developers, business analysts and project managers. The company says hiring for the Detroit project teams will begin immediately.