Bass Pro and Beyond
Hope for civic transformation with Big Three city projects
BILL DRIES | The Daily News
http://memphisdailynews.com/editoria....aspx?id=50663
Bass Pro and the City of Memphis continue to try and hammer out a lease agreement for The Pyramid, which would include a costly seismic retrofitting to be paid for by the city. Photo: Lance Murphey
One version from a 2008 city report of what The Pyramid might look like with a Bass Pro Shops store and other attractions. Note the location of a hotel inside the structure and an elevator to the top that is in the center with a restaurant on the top level. An alternate hotel site is the lodge building separate from The Pyramid but attached to it which would be on Front Street. The terms of a seismic retrofitting now being negotiated between the city and the retailer will be crucial to where these key features are.
The view of the Liberty Bowl from East Parkway has been dramatically altered since the demolition of most Mid-South Fair buildings. Photo: Lance Murphey
The $15.5 million plan for Tiger Lane began as a seven-acre greenspace at the Mid-South Fairgrounds. It now includes two new access roads as well as other modifications to the property. The project is on a tight timeline, scheduled for completion by mid-September when football and tailgating season begins at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
A recent appropriation by the Memphis City Council will breathe new life into the Beale Street Landing project, which stalled when millions in federal stimulus money went up in smoke. Photo: Lance Murphey
An artist’s rendering of what Beale Street Landing will look like when completed. The riverside project supervised by the Riverfront Development Corp. has one more phase to completion that would create a park atop the gift shop and restaurant and landing itself. Federal funding for the project vanished as the city transitioned through three mayors. In the confusion, RDC officials acknowledge they pushed ahead with the project instead of looking for design alternatives.
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