Four years ago, SugarHouse Casino opened its doors to Fishtown and Philadelphia, becoming one of the first major-metropolitan casinos of its kind in the country. On Tues., July 22, amidst the increasingly present construction equipment and chain-link fencing on the casino’s property, SugarHouse officially broke ground on a new and long-anticipated $164 million expansion.

“This is really a game changer for SugarHouse,” Wendy Hamilton, SugarHouse’s general manger, said. “Until now it’s been a two dimensional, but great, experience since there wasn’t a whole lot else to do other than game. The focuses of this expansion are on food, entertainment, events and live poker. We’ll be more than twice as big and we’ll have all kinds of activities that you can do on the property.”

With a toss of dirt and spray of confetti, SugarHouse executives, city officials and community leaders officially began a new phase of construction that will see the creation of a multi-purpose riverfront event space, new restaurants, a parking garage and a dedicated live poker room. Expected to open next year, the expansion will more than double the size of SugarHouse from 108,00 to 260,000 square feet. This does not include the seven-story, 600,000-square-foot parking garage.

On the gaming side, the new expansion will increase the casino’s gambling floor from 50,000 square feet to 85,000 square feet and feature the first live poker room in the city of Philadelphia, boasting 30 tables of 24/7 competitive poker action. In addition to the poker rooms, there will be an increase in slot and table units by 25 percent.

“Above all else, this expansion is about amenities,” Hamilton said. “In this highly competitive environment, we’re making sure that we have the best mix of attraction that will keep SugarHouse on the top of Philly’s game for years to come.”

SugarHouse players won’t have to wait until 2015 for a better poker experience— starting this fall, SugarHouse is opening an interim 24-table poker room to meet Philly’s high demand for poker. This interim room will remain open until the casino debuts the permanent poker room in 2015. The temporary room will be built on the south side of the property facing the Ben Franklin Bridge to ensure that it won’t interrupt expansion construction.

While the groundbreaking ceremony was the formal kickoff for the new expansion project, pre-work began in April and has been moving along on schedule. As part of the expansion process, SugarHouse committed to upgrading the Combined Sewer Outflows on both the north and south sides of the property. Once completed, those projects will help relieve chronic flooding in the surrounding neighborhoods and allow for the larger construction process to begin.

Upon completion, the expansion will also bring 500 new jobs to Philadelphia on top of the 1,600 construction jobs created throughout the construction processes. SugarHouse currently employs 1,100 people, many of whom are from Philadelphia.

“It’s tremendous that 500 jobs are being added with this expansion,” Councilman Mark Squilla said. “We talk about how we want to grow the city and this is a pure example of what we need to do. By attracting a business to expand, by getting people to want to work in the city, we can grow tremendously. We need to get the new people moving into Philadelphia to have jobs and if they have jobs they will stay here.”

The completed facility will also see SugarHouse raising its annual contribution to the Penn Treaty Special Services District (SSD) to $1 million each year. To date, the SSD has received three annual payments totaling $1,175,000 in funding from SugarHouse Casino to help promote local economic development. This agreement was outlined in the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) signed between community organization and SugarHouse in 2008 and was a key factor in the neighborhood’s approval of the casino’s initial construction.

“The community that bought into it is so important, and not only that they bought into but that the SugarHouse is still willing to work with the community,” Squilla said. “It’s really nice to know that after this expansion is done, there will be additional dollars for the Special Services District. They do so many good things for the community so that we have a true public-private partnership.”

“[SugarHouse] has wanted to be a true neighbor and a true partner in this neighborhood and what they’ve done has been remarkable,” City Council President Darrell Clarke said. “You can’t find a single event or activity in this community that SugarHouse hasn’t put its finger on in a tangible and meaningful way. I’m excited about what they’ve done and what they intend on doing, and truly becoming part of the fabric of this community.”

Maggie O’Brien has been a key player in making sure that SugarHouse continues its promise to give back to the community. As a leading member Fishtown Action (FACT), O’Brien played a pivotal role in getting the CBA signed with SugarHouse and has been pleased to see the casino keep its word and remain committed to the community and its residents.

“The Penn Treaty Special Services District has helped so many community groups and organizations,” O’Brien said. “It’s unbelievable all the work that’s been done at Hetzels Field, St. Laurentius School, senior citizens groups. The money has just been really tremendous and a tremendous help to the community.”

To Hamilton, the relationship that has been built between the community and casino has been a benefit to both parties involved.

“This neighborhood has been a critical component to our success,” Hamilton said. “The folks in these immediate zip codes have been and remain to be our employees and our customers. We go to them in advance of everything we do and ask what they think. They are part of our team.”