The Cal Ripken Jr. of Real Estate

Just like Cal, Cordish Co chairman David Cordish is a Baltimore institution.

Yesterday, we stopped by David’s Power Plant office (he still has good form holding that lacrosse stick from his playing days at Hopkins). The big news: Cordish will break ground in Toronto this year on Woodbine Live!, a $1B mixed-use expansion of the Woodbine Racetrack and Casino.

Also, last month Cordish started construction on Maryland Live! Casino at Arundel Mills. David says it’s uncertain when the casino will deliver due to repeated attempts to stall development by the Maryland Jockey Club. On that front, he tells us the state loses $1.2M in tax revenue each day construction is delayed. Another big project: Late this year (or early next), Cordish is breaking ground on a $900M redevelopment of the U. of Maryland’s East Campus in College Park.

David tells us he likes to use public-private partnerships to achieve transformative projects. One example: the Inner Harbor’s Power Plant, which was started by Six Flags in 1987 but ended in “disaster” after six months. It was vacant for 10 years before City officials approached Cordish. He pursued high-profile tenants (opening the world’s first ESPN Zone) as part of a strategy to change perceptions about the area. It’s now among the city’s marquis buildings, spurring interest in Harbor East (David estimates there’s been $10B of area commercial development since the building delivered).

The Cordish Cos was founded by Louis Cordish in 1910. David’s three sons (Jonathan, Blake, and Reed) now work with him. His outlook: Lending thawed for renovations about six months ago and the new construction loan market is showing life (his top lenders include M&T Bank, Deutsche Bank, and JP Morgan). He thinks the city is in for a rough ride for 2011, citing a lack of Fortune 500 companies.