Cordish Announces The Waterside District

Cordish Announces The Waterside District
NORFOLK, VA (August 17, 2015) – In anticipation of its historic groundbreaking in a few weeks, The Cordish Companies announced today the name and logo of its development on the waterfront as Waterside District. In addition, the “annex” building that was added to the project in the 1990’s will be demolished, returning the building to its original footprint and creating a future site for an expansion of the Waterside District.

The revitalization of the historic Waterside building, the Waterside District, will still prominently feature The Cordish Companies’ Live! brand and, consistent with prior announcements, will remain as a vibrant, family-friendly gathering place for local residents and visitors, full of best-in-class local and national restaurant and entertainment concepts.

“We are excited to announce that we see a larger vision for this important site that is more than a Live! District, but ultimately a broader mixed-use, waterfront district, and the name, the Waterside District, speaks to that potential. This is exactly the approach we took in phased, mixed-use developments like Ballpark Village in St. Louis, MO and The Power & Light District in Kansas City, MO which has proved extremely successful,” said Blake Cordish, Vice President of The Cordish Companies. “We are extremely honored to have the opportunity to bring Waterside back to life, and transform it into a vibrant regional destination that will be a source of pride for the community. To have an iconic building on the waterfront in a truly great city is a special opportunity for our family. We are going to put our heart and soul into returning the building to its former glory and providing Norfolk’s waterfront a new sense of place.”

“This plan will allow us to maximize the potential of this important site for the City of Norfolk. We have executed similar strategies in multiple cities across the country with tremendous success,” stated David S. Cordish, Chairman of The Cordish Companies for the last fifty years.

“We appreciate the Cordish Companies efforts to revitalize this iconic place on Norfolk’s waterfront, “said Mayor Paul Fraim, Mayor of the City of Norfolk. “We have a once in a generation opportunity to enhance the waterfront of our great city so today’s announcement is incredibly exciting. We have one of the premier developers in the United States willing to invest long-term in our downtown which speaks to our city’s positive momentum.”

The Cordish Companies received feedback from the community and the city regarding the historical significance of the Waterside name and agreed to preserve and honor it.

David Cordish made an interesting analogy between his Company’s decision to retain the Waterside name in Norfolk and a similar decision to retain the Power Plant name in Baltimore: “The Power Plant evokes warm memories, and was well known to Baltimoreans. There is a substantial similarity with the Waterside name in Norfolk. Almost twenty years ago, we made the decision in Baltimore to retain the Power Plant name and the decision turned out to have been a home run. We are confident this will also be the case with Waterside District.”

An official groundbreaking for Waterside District is planned for August 26, with construction commencing thereafter. Waterside District is set to open Spring 2017.