SugarHouse Casino investors seal financing deal

SugarHouse Casino construction is set to move ahead after investors closed yesterday on a $195 million financing package. The gaming partnership, which includes Chicago developer Neil Bluhm, is borrowing the money from a group led by two global financial services companies, Credit Suisse and Jefferies Finance.

The first phase of building will cost about $355 million. But before that begins, SugarHouse officials said, they will finish archaeological work at the site, on Delaware Avenue between Northern Liberties and Fishtown. Previously, they said historic excavations would be delayed until later stages of development.

Archaeologists identified two areas of interest on the 22-acre site: a 30-by-50-foot patch that includes Indian relics and a section under Penn Street where a British fort from the late 1700s was thought to have stood. "It makes more sense . . . to do that work first," said Leigh Whitaker, a SugarHouse spokeswoman. - Jennifer Lin