Elvis is in the building (or soon will be)

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — A new entertainment complex being built across the street from Graceland — Elvis Presley’s former home-turned-museum — will include a large soundstage for live performances and movie screenings, and an exhibit honouring influential music producer Sam Phillips, officials said.

A large artist’s rendering of the planned 200,000 square-foot entertainment centre was unveiled by Joel Weinshanker and Jack Soden, two executives of Elvis Presley Enterprises.

The $45-million US complex is set to open next spring, replacing the aging visitor centre across the street from the Graceland home where the rock ’n’ roll singer and film star spent 20 years before his death on Aug. 16, 1977.

Construction has begun on the complex, part of a $137-million US expansion that will also include a $92 million, 450-room hotel, The Guest House at Graceland, which is set to open Oct. 27. Graceland received a tax incentive package for the expansion project.

For about three decades, Graceland’s visitors have been flowing through aging, grey, flatroofed buildings to see exhibits highlighting Presley’s career, a car museum, souvenir shops and restaurants. Most of those buildings will be torn down to make way for the new complex.

The car museum will be moved to the new campus, but the attraction featuring Presley’s two airplanes will remain in its current location, also across the street from the house.

The cornerstone of the new complex will be a museum featuring hundreds of Presley-related artifacts. The complex will also have a diner, a barbecue restaurant, an ice-cream shop, retail stores and the Graceland Soundstage, which will have seating for 2,000 people.