Entertainment is the password for local company

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Tradition is in the eye of the beholder, and the Cordish Company’s “traditional development” division handles projects many would call cutting-edge.

“We’re not doing traditional development by the standards of most other developers, but traditional for us,” said company Vice President Jon Cordish, “these very large urban, mixed-use projects, which all have an entertainment component or focus to them.”

The company’s other facets include a resorts and gaming division as well as an entertainment concepts division. Put together, the company has a hand in a wide range of projects.

“The vision here, in the simplest form, is to be a vertically integrated company within entertainment,” Cordish said. “Our expertise that led us into a lot of these areas was in creating these entertainment districts all over the country.”

One of the company’s earlier projects has proven to be its most successful; where other companies including Six Flags tried and failed to develop the Power Plant building, Cordish succeeded.

“If you look at what they’ve done in Baltimore, they’ve been tremendously successful at Power Plant, where multiple efforts failed before them,” said Donald Fry, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Baltimore Committee. “They’ve created a really vibrant, attractive location, popular with tourists and Baltimore residents.”

There are few entertainment-based projects the company can’t handle, Cordish said. “If it has that entertainment core to it, the other elements can and do run the gamut. The kinds of projects that need that ‘live’ district core, we’re very well-suited for.”

acahall@baltimoreexaminer.com

acannarsa@baltimoreexaminer.com