Cordish, meanwhile, has continued as a bold, successful developer here and elsewhere even through the Great Recession. Most recently he bid successfully for the right to build a slot machine casino near the Arundel Mills Mall, then conducted a winning political campaign, even going door-to-door himself, to defeat a referendum that would have derailed the facility. We salute all of our 2011 Influential Marylanders, but especially Nancy Grasmick and David Cordish.
Executive Editor Tom Linthicum The Daily Record
The Seminole Hard Rock and Casino, a complex that incorporates a hotel, casino and night-life district is worth a drive. It's Las Vegas with all the bells and whistles.
Charles Passy New York Times
We are continuing to undergo extensive urban development and look to the success of the Bayou Place public-private partnership as a model for future projects. The effort that you [Cordish] put into the Bayou Place project and its resulting fulfillment has earned you the respect of us all.
Lee P. Brown Mayor of Houston
The Cordish Company entertainment project, Bayou Place, has been the catalyst for creating street and nightlife, which downtown Houston has never experienced before. As the largest concert promoter in the country, we strive for success such as this.
Rodney Eckerman President & CEO Pace/SFX Entertainment
We are grateful to The Cordish Companies, one of the world's leading real estate developers, for redefining our downtown with the establishment of the Kansas City Power & Light District. We applaud their core values of quality, entrepreneurial spirit, long-term personal relationships and integrity.
Kansas City AdHoc Group
As a catalyst development the Power & Light District not only initiated the turn-around of the south loop of Downtown, but it also re-established Downtown as the premier location to live, work and play. Without a doubt the Power & Light District has proved to be a catalyst for addition investment; it provided a renewed sense of optimism within the city. Our Downtown economic research supports the fact that at no other time in its history has Downtown Kansas City experienced such significant re-development.
Bill Dietrich President & CEO of the Downtown Council of Kansas City
When The Cordish Company expresses interest in your city, you must be doing something right. Having Cordish involved allowed us to entice H&R Block, one of our hometown companies, to plan its new world headquarters for downtown. This was huge, Cordish, H&R Block-suddenly people across the nation were taking notice.
Kay Barnes Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
The success of The Cordish Company and the Power & Light District in meeting and exceeding MBE/WBE goals, in addition to todays announced communications initiative, demonstrates how a public/private partnership can create wide reaching and inclusive results.
Kay Barnes Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri