Cordish Plans World-Class Experience for Arundel Mills

The downtown headquarters of the Cordish Cos. practically bleed confidence.

Set in the century-old Power Plant building with exposed brick walls, modern furniture and panoramic views of the Inner Harbor, the company proudly displays its national work - what its executives call “comprehensive entertainment experiences.”

A big-screen TV in the waiting area loops a series of planned or finished projects in cities across the country, such as San Francisco, Houston, St. Louis, Daytona, Ohio, Louisville, Ky., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

Cordish executives are hoping to add Anne Arundel County to that list, as the company emerged earlier this month with a proposal to place 4,750 slot machines at Arundel Mills mall.

“There are only a few companies capable of developing a project of this scale and we are one of them,” Joseph S. Weinberg, the president of development, said last week. “There are only a few companies that have the liquidity today.”

Cordish appears to have come into the slots discussion at the perfect time. Its major competitor, Magna Entertainment Corp., was leery of shelling out a license fee without refund assurances in case zoning wasn’t approved for 4,750 machines at Laurel Park.

The state’s Video Lottery Facility Location Commission unanimously rejected the Magna bid Thursday on the grounds it had no authority to change when or how it collected fees. Now, a constitutional challenge from attorneys of the Maryland Jockey Club, a Magna franchise, awaits a Feb. 26 hearing in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.