City Housing and Community development director Robert Lipscomb is in Springfield, Mo., to continue negotiating lease terms for Bass Pro Shops planned redevelopment of The Pyramid.
While Lipscomb doesn't expect a lease to be signed today, both sides are continuing to make progress, he said.
"We're closer than we've ever been," said Lipscomb by phone this morning.
Bass Pro and city officials are considering an initial 20-year lease on the building, with seven renewal periods of five years each. The Springfield, Mo.-based retailer plans to turn the unused Pyramid into a $100 million regional center with retail shops, restaurants, offices and a Mississippi River exhibit.
Bass Pro and Memphis officials have been in negotiations since late 2005.
In February 2009, the city signed an agreement giving the company until Dec. 31, 2009, to finish planning and gathering the necessary permits before signing a long-term lease.
In December, the City Council agreed to extend the agreement until March 31.
Bass Pro has been paying the city $35,000 a month since signing the 2009 agreement and had committed to paying a $500,000 penalty if it pulled out of the deal.
The state Building Commission recently gave tentative approval to the city's request to allow state sales tax revenue collected in a Downtown "Tourist Development Zone" to help pay for refitting The Pyramid.
The TDZ allocates increased collections of tax revenue from businesses within the zone to specific public-use facilities, such as the Memphis Cook Convention Center and The Pyramid.
The scope of the project has expanded, with Memphis-based Poag & McEwen Lifestyle Centers talking with the city and Bass Pro about redeveloping a portion of the nearby Pinch District.
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