Cordish Captures The Imagination

The Cordish Company and its affiliates revitalize downtowns with large-scale mixed-use projects and one-of-a-kind entertainment concepts. The Cordish Company is behind some of the largest and most exciting retail and mixed-use projects in the <st1:country-region>United States</st1:country-region>. As long-term owners, the company creates unique destinations with quality concepts: “Our sole focus is to create developments that will stand the test of time and appreciate in value. Our business model is to remain an active, guiding force in our developments over the long term,” says Blake Cordish, vice president with the Baltimore-based company.

The family-owned company has retained ownership interest in the vast majority of the projects it has developed since its founding by Louis Cordish in 1910. Today, the company’s holdings total more than 40 million square feet of retail and entertainments space. Louis’ grandson David Cordish is chairman. Louis’ great-grandsons, Jonathan, Blake and Reed, are vice presidents with the company along with other non-family member partners. Blake Cordish oversees the development division with a major focus on entertainment and mixed-use projects. Reed Cordish oversees the restaurant/club division. Jonathan Cordish serves as the company’s director of finance, chairman of the media/film division and serves as the managing director of the private equity investment business.

According to Blake Cordish, “One reason for our success is that we’ve remained builders at our heart and soul. We have focused on the intricacies of planning, design, engineering, architecture and construction. Unfortunately, quality building is a dying art in the development business. The real estate industry is seeing fewer builder/developers with extensive in-house resources.”

“We believe that in-house development and construction resources are critical to creating successful large-scale projects,” he stresses. “We are so proud of our professionals, many of whom have been with our company longer than I have — 20 to 30 years. It is the longevity and expertise of our team that leads to our success.”

Another key to the company’s success is its vertical integration. The company controls as many aspects of its developments as possible. On the retail side is a division that focuses on creating unique entertainment concepts, including restaurants and clubs. Launched more than a decade ago, Entertainment Concepts Investors (ECI) currently operates more than a dozen different concepts in excess of 50 locations, and counting. According to Reed Cordish, “Our entire development outlook is based upon long-term commitment to quality. Our ability to place certain concepts into our large-scale developments allows us to ensure the businesses — specifically those focused on entertainment — share the same long-term commitment to the quality of a develop­ment through the quality of operations. In addition, it allows us to create unique concepts that are a terrific draw for a particular area.”

Creating Downtown Districts

“We start with the basic premise that downtowns have great significance to the broader community of a metropolitan area,” Blake Cordish says. “We want the downtown to become a living room for the city — a place with a unique energy level, a place for the community to gather, a place where the community feels ownership.”

In creating these attractive, high-energy developments, The Cordish Company creates a positive feeling about a downtown area that creates a catalyst for other projects. Blake Cordish comments, “Revitalization of distressed areas is about changing negative perceptions and instilling confidence in a market, or even creating a market. It is psychological. In part, our success is measured by what happens around our districts. It is ultimately the spin-off benefits that are most gratifying and meaningful to our public sector partners.”

In California, the city of West Sacramento turned to Cordish to create a master-planned town center on 230 acres with 4 miles of river frontage. At final build-out, The Stone Lock District will include a mixture of retail, office, hotel and residen­tial uses, more than 60 acres of public open space, a museum or other civic use, and a state-of-the-art marina. Cordish is currently seeking community input for the project. “It is critical to get community input in the visioning phase of a major development,” says Blake Cordish. “As a long-term holder of real estate, we passionately believe each development should be authentic to its community and meaningful to the neighborhood in terms of design, planning, architecture and tenancy.”

In Louisville, Kentucky, Cordish is partnering with the city and the state to expand its successful Fourth Street Live! project, which attracts in excess of 4 million visitors each year. The $450 million development, called the Center City District, will total six blocks that will include a new retail, entertainment, office and residential complex; a new retail corridor linking the complex to Fourth Street Live!; and the renovation of Louisville Gardens, a 6,000-seat entertainment venue. According to Blake Cordish, “There is a real demand and need for a venue of this size. The building needs a tremendous amount of TLC to bring it to contemporary standards, but it is a beautiful historic building with great bones.” The Cordish Company will lease the venue from the city for events and concerts, and the site may become home to a minor league hock­ey team. Blake Cordish notes, “The opportunity to revitalize historic buildings as part of our districts is always exciting. Retaining historic buildings is a way to maintain the authenticity of a district.”

In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Cordish has partnered with the city and the state to create a downtown retail district. In 2000, Atlantic City’s amenities were largely limited to gaming. In 2003, Cordish opened the first phase of The Walk, a $250 million retail and enter­tainment project that is transforming 15 city blocks located between the casinos and the convention center. The company recently completed the second phase. The first two phases include more than 100 stores totaling more than 500,000 square feet. The third phase, which includes approximately 100,000 square feet of retail, will be complete in 2009.

“This was a challenged area that is now one of the more successful outlet retail destinations in the <st1:country-region>United States</st1:country-region>,” says Blake Cordish. “The Walk has helped to change the way people think about the city.”

In Shelbyville, Indiana, The Cordish Company is developing Indiana Live!, a gaming-based develop­ment. “Over the last decade we have become focused on gaming as an anchor for broader retail and entertainment destinations,” Blake Cordish says, noting that the company established a gaming and hospitality arm approximately 10 years ago. “True to our philosophy of vertical integration, we have built a significant in-house gaming man­agement team so we can control every facet of gaming based developments.”

He adds, “We focus our energies on creating comprehensive entertainment destinations with a broad array of shopping, dining, gam­ing and hotel uses. The two Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos we developed are prime examples of this approach. The result is that people stay longer and gamble more; conversely, strict focus on gaming is not as successful.”

Located 15 miles from downtown Indianapolis, Indiana Live! Casino is a $600 million,100­acre development that includes a 235,000­square-foot casino with 2,000 slot machines and numerous food and beverage venues, as well as the Indiana Downs racetrack. The entertainment component will total approximately 150,000 square feet and includes venues such as Maker’s Mark Bourbon House and Lounge, NASCAR Sports Grille and Angels Rock Bar. The Cordish Company is also developing several mixed-use projects that have large sports venue components, including the Kansas City Power & Light District in Missouri; Daytona Live! in Daytona, Florida; Ballpark Village in St. Louis; Philly Live! in Philadelphia; and Woodbine Live! in Toronto, <st1:country-region>Canada</st1:country-region>. Shopping Center Business covered these projects in the September 2008 issue.

One-of-a-Kind Concepts

The Cordish Company’s entertainment operating division often partners with well-established brands to create concepts that help its projects stand out.

For example, ECI has partnered with AMC to create Mainstreet Theater, a premium concept that features a full-service restaurant, showcase dessert kitchen, coffee lounge, enhanced concessions as well as state-of-the-art movie auditoriums. The first Mainstreet Theater will be located in a historic building in Cordish’s Kansas City Power & Light District. According to Reed Cordish, the 72,000­square-foot building, originally constructed in 1921, was the place to be in its heyday. “We are bringing back one of the great old anchors of downtown Kansas City in an incredibly new and rele­vant way,” he adds, ”This will be one of the most unique theaters in the country,” Blake Cordish adds, noting that the abandoned building had previously been slated for demolition. “It is a fabulous building that would not be feasible as a new construction.”

The all-digital theater, scheduled to open in first quarter 2009, will feature fine finishes, including hardwood and terrazzo floors, chandeliers and glass handrails. Four of the auditoriums will be small and intimate in nature; two will be large and dramatic. “All of the auditoriums will take the theater experience to a new level of comfort and service,” Reed Cordish says.

Approximately 14,000 square feet of space will be devoted to Bistro 5, a two-level restaurant that includes a coffee lounge area with couches as well as a showcase of desserts that serves as a backdrop to the restaurant area.

The partnership plays to the strengths of each company, Reed Cordish says. “AMC is the best in the movie industry; ECI has tremendous experience running all types of restaurants. Through this collaboration, we are creating a truly special experience.”

ECI is also expanding its Angels Rock Bar concept. The concept, a mix of live music and nightclub, is dedicated to Rock’n’Roll music. “A great component in any entertainment area, it has terrific synergy with neighboring venues and restaurants,” Reed Cordish notes.

“The concept draws an incredible mix of people, from the 20­something party-going crowd to the 40- and 50-year-olds who love Rock’n’Roll music,” he adds. “They show up in suits and ties or in jeans and Rock’n’Roll t-shirts.”

The first Angels Rock Bar opened in Houston in 2006. Additional locations have since opened in Louisville, Baltimore and Kansas City. The company is opening a location at Indiana Live! in first quarter 2009 and at Philly Live! in 2010.

ECI is also looking to expand its PBR Big Sky concept, a collaboration with Professional Bull Riders Inc. It features a classic American grill menu; live music, including touring country acts and the PBR Big Sky house band; and appearances by professional bull riders.

Buckshot, a 2,000-pound bull, was even on hand for the April grand opening of the first location at the Kansas City Power & Light District.

Both bull riding and country music are popular across the country. Reed Cordish notes that the Professional Bull Riders have televised events 35 weeks during the year and sell out large arenas like the Thomas & Mack in Las Vegas and Madison Square Garden in New York. “Country music is incredibly main­stream,” he adds. “A country radio station is number 1 in most markets in the <st1:country-region>U.S.</st1:country-region>”

PBR Big Sky differs from the traditional county-themed restaurant with sawdust on the floor and instead offers clean lines and a hip feel, according to Reed Cordish. “It is also capable of changing from day to night, appealing to families during the day and becoming a fun night spot with a bustling bar at night.”

The company’s popular Maker’s Mark Bourbon House and Lounge is also growing. A collaboration between ECI and Maker’s Mark, the high-end concept has a lively atmosphere and strong restau­rant and bar sales. Current locations, in Louisville and Kansas City, are approximately 6,500 square feet. A third location, totaling 10,000 square feet, will open at Indiana Live! in first quarter 2009. “We expect this concept to do incredibly well as part of a casino environment,” Reed Cordish says. ECI is scouting additional locations for the unique restaurant-lounge concept.

The Cordish Philosophy

“Going the extra mile nets incredible results,” Reed Cordish says. “You can never go wrong by going the extra mile to make sure things are done right. Whether we are choosing materials for construction, deciding how to maintain a development or operating concepts within a project, we do our best to ensure quality is maintained. It might be hard but you’ll never go wrong with that philosophy.”

Blake Cordish, who worked on Wall Street for 2 years after college, says he expected to return to the family business later in life. When he was trying to decide his career path, his father David Cordish, now chairman of the company, asked, “Who in this world will take a more vested interest in your learning than your family?”

He says, “The amount I’ve learned from my family has been extraordinary. I have learned from my father and my grandfather [Paul Cordish] how small the world is and how important relationships are. To be successful, the people in the companies you relate with also have to be successful. We try to build strong foundations and good relationships with everyone we work with, from tenants to consultants to partners. Importantly, I have also learned there is no substitute for good old-fashioned elbow grease. The legacy of my grandfather, brought forward by my father, is the importance of work ethic and passion.”