Cordoba Corporation was founded in 1983 by George L. Pla as a specialized urban planning firm with its first offices in the historic James Oviatt Building in downtown Los Angeles.

Cordoba Corporation worked with the California Public Utilities Commission to establish the first comprehensive database of disadvantaged small businesses and developed guidelines for their certification. This effort was instrumental in opening doors for increased participation for minority and women entrepreneurs in infrastructure projects.

establishing a presence still enjoyed today. This led to significant engagements in the 1990s related to the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) expansion to the San Francisco Airport, the modernization of Oakland City Hall and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Stadium, as well as the first of its kind “transit village” located in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland.

Displaying its core expertise in urban planning, Cordoba Corporation participated in the development of the Downtown Strategic Plan, an effort to re-envision downtown Los Angeles as not only a regional employment center, but also as a sustainable and viable residential area. Cordoba’s participation focused on the economic impacts and opportunities of revitalizing the city center.

Before the term ‘start-up’ was coined, Cordoba Corporation was recognized by the Harvard Business School in a case study that identified the company as a new kind of emerging business model, where the brightest minds come to work for a company that sees the world differently than its major competitors.

Cordoba Corporation moved into its new headquarters in the historic Solano Canyon area of Elysian Park, just north of downtown Los Angeles. The office, which is situated on North Broadway, is near the "Cornfield," a former empty rail switching yard near Chinatown and the Los Angeles River.

Cordoba Corporation joined the ranks of the industry's top professional services firms, ranking on both the ENR Top 50 Program Management Firms and the ENR Top 100 Construction Management-for-Fee Firms in the nation. In the ensuing years since 2012, Cordoba has continued to be recognized by ENR in these national rankings.

Cordoba Corporation once again volunteered it's expert planning, permitting and execution services to bring the Space Shuttle Endeavor's External Tank (ET-94) from Marina Del Ray on a 16.5 mile journey through the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles to it's new home at the California Science Center.

Cordoba Corporation opens an office in Chatsworth focused on providing local presence to clients in the San Fernando Valley and eastern Ventura County. The office supports several SoCalGas projects and programs due its proximity to the SoCalGas Chatsworth Office, including the SoCalGas Distribution Integrity Management Program/Distribution Risk Evaluation and Monitoring System (DIMP/DREAMS) and New Business Programs.

Cordoba Corporation established new offices in Sacramento to support Cordoba's team providing a variety of program management services for the California High-Speed Rail Project and other pursuits in the Sacramento region.

Cordoba Corporation also purchased a 38,000 square-foot office complex in the Kearny-Mesa area of San Diego to accommodate the Energy Infrastructure Sector's growing team supporting major gas pipeline and electric system project for SDG&E. The office also provides local presence and supports the ongoing expansion of Cordoba's other sectors and community involvement and investment in the San Diego area and bi-national Cali-Baja region.

Cordoba Corporation opened a new office in Ontario, conveniently located near the Ontario Airport, to support local clients and business expansion efforts in the Inland Empire.

Cordoba Corporation also purchased a second building in the same business complex where its Santa Ana Regional Office is located to accommodate the company's ongoing growth in the Orange County area. Notably, Cordoba's Santa Ana Regional Office is home to Cordoba's Engineering & Design Center, which supports several key design and engineering projects that span all four of Cordoba's sectors across California.

The Pathway to Success Program is a workforce development initiative Cordoba Corporation developed in response to heightened concerns about social justice issues that came to the forefront during summer 2020. The mission of the program is to develop employable individuals from economically neglected or disadvantaged areas into valuable and successful employees for Cordoba Corporation and other participating firms.

Urban Land Institute Americas Awards for Excellence - Cordoba Corporation was part of the team led by The Unity Council and the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation that was recognized by ULI for the development of Casa Arabella in Oakland.

Cordoba Corporation has a monumental year of giving back and expanding its philanthropy efforts, statewide. Cordoba was the major corporate sponsor and project manager of the East Los Angeles Classic at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, bringing together over 43K spectators for the annual Garfield and Roosevelt High School football rivalry game.

Cordoba Corporation celebrates its 40th anniversary! Cordoba started with an idea in a living room...to an electric typewriter and a team that fit more than comfortably around a dining table.

Today, we have nearly 600 employees with expertise in construction, engineering, planning, and project management in the fields of water, energy, transportation, education, and facilities. With 9 offices statewide, our ability to work regionally allows us to focus on big projects such as high speed rail in Northern California to dust mitigation projects in the Central Valley to transit extensions in Los Angeles to pipeline management in San Diego and even projects that take us down to the US/Mexico border.

A lot has happened from 1983 until now, but one thing remains true, we see the world differently than other companies. We are local, we are technically strong, we are diverse, and we give back.