Cordish, Gilbane Top Out $700M Philadelphia Casino

Rendering of Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia. Image courtesy of Gilbane Building Co.

The Cordish Cos. and Gilbane Building Co. have topped out the $700 million Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia. Slated for completion in 2020, the 1.5 million-square-foot development will include a 12-story, 200-key boutique hotel, with restaurants, entertainment venues, valet parking services and a 2,700-stall garage.

The casino component will feature 2,200 slot machines and electronic table games, 150 live action table games and sports betting platform Sportsbook. David Cordish, chairman & CEO of Cordish Cos., said the property, located at 900 Packard Ave. in Philadelphia’s Stadium District, will create a one-stop shop for all sports, food, gaming, concert and entertainment needs.

The signing of the final commemorative beam. Image courtesy of Gilbane Building Co.

The large-scale casino is anticipated to bring measurable economic and community benefits to the City of Brotherly Love. The developers estimate the project will have an economic impact of approximately $2 billion for the city and generate $100 million in tax revenues during its first five years of operations, with a quarter directed toward Philadelphia’s school district.

The development is also expected to generate significant employment opportunities—some 3,000 construction jobs in addition to 2,000 other jobs. Recruiting efforts will begin in early 2020, and the companies have committed to giving priority to local candidates. In the surrounding neighborhoods, the developers also plan to create a Community Advisory Committee and invest $15 million through the first 10 years of the project to fund improvements in the local area.

Cordish Construction Continues

The Philadelphia casino is only one part of Cordish’s wider Pennsylvania development portfolio. The firm plans to break ground later in November on a Live! Casino in Westmoreland County near Pittsburgh. Working with Comcast Spectacor, Cordish also broke ground in September on a $50 million e-sports arena for the Philadelphia Fusion Overwatch team which is set to open in early 2021.

In February, the partnership between Cordish and Comcast also began work on Pattison Place, a 200,000-square-foot office next to the Xfinity Live! mixed-use entertainment hub.