Cordish Abandons Starks Building Lease

The Baltimore-based developer Cordish Company has given up its lease in the Starks Building in downtown LouisvilleThe developer is abandoning its lease on about 20 thousand square feet of space in the building on the corner of Muhammad Ali Boulevard and Fourth Street, on the southern edge of Cordish's 4th Street Live development.Cordish signed the lease in 2007 and owed nearly fifty thousand dollars in rent for the space. The company was in negotiations to fill it with a seafood restaurant.A spokesperson for the Mayor's office blames the failed deal on the economy and says the city is optimistic new developers can be found as the economy improves.Cordish currently has plans to expand 4th Street Live eastward as part of the 200 thousand square foot Center City project, though construction has not yet begun.