Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Elvis Presley"s Graceland getting major upgrade


Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds Live in Las Vegas

USA Today Network Wayne Risher, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal 9:31 p.m. EDT August 11, 2016

Keith Hess, general manager of The Guest house at Graceland, leads a media tour in the new building in Memphis on Aug. 10, 2016.(Photo: Yalonda M. James, The Commercial Appeal)

MEMPHISGraceland managers say they"ll reveal details on Monday for a $45 million, 200,000 square foot visitor and entertainment complex on the west side of Elvis Presley Boulevard.

The new construction, scheduled for complextion next spring, will replace a decades-old complex containing souvenir shops, dining and exhibits of Elvis Presley"s cars.

Coupled with a $92 million investment in a resort hotel called The Guest House at Graceland, it brings to $137 million the price tag for updated facilities supporting Presley"s Graceland mansion.

The number released by Elvis Presley Enterprises Thursday slightly exceeds a $132 million total investment previously reported by community leaders.

What Graceland owners refer to as the "Westside Project" is directly across the street from the mansion and 450-room hotel, which is on track to open Oct. 27. The site includes the Heartbreak Hotel, slated for demolition after The Guest House is completed.

New facilities will include a new museum of Elvis" cars, two restaurants, a multipurpose building, six retail spaces, an "Elvis the Entertainer" museum and other exhibits. Graceland officials have said they"ll move Elvis memorabilia including gold records, guitars and jumpsuits from the mansion to the new space. An aircraft exhibit of the "Lisa Marie" will stay in place.

Graceland, Elvis Presley"s home in Memphis.(Photo: Mark Humphrey, AP)

Elvis Presley Enterprises had previously sought construction permits for at least $28 million in westside work.

Joel Weinshanker, managing partner of Graceland/Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc., and Jack Soden, chief executive of Elvis Presley Enterprises, are scheduled to participate in the Monday announcement.

Weinshanker leads a group that bought the operating rights to Graceland in 2013 and put together a master plan for redevelopment. It"s the most sweeping overhaul of Graceland"s Whitehaven complex since the home opened for tours in 1982.

The development is being aided by key public incentives including a tax-increment financing (TIF) district and a tourism development zone. Graceland officials said the future incentives had a net present value of $78.6 million when approved in 2014.

Follow Wayne Risher on Twitter:@gwrisher

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Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2016/08/11/elvis-presleys-graceland-getting-major-upgrade/88598600/

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