Subcommittee approves long-term lease for National Civil Rights Museum

Deputy Commissioner John Hall of the Department of General Services asked the executive subcommittee to approve a long-term disposal-by-lease for the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis and said the proposed agreement would be a 50-year lease with a renewal option. "We have been working closely with Dr. Wigginton's team and Ashley to create a new long term 50 year lease agreement with a renewal option for an additional 25 years," Hall told the panel.

Hall said the new lease would end the foundation’s responsibility for ongoing maintenance and move the property into the state facility revolving fund so the state provides maintenance “just as we do for other state facilities.” The staff recommendation included a waiver of advertisement and appraisal, which Hall said was justified by the long association between the state and the foundation. The subcommittee voted in favor of the lease.

Dr. Russ Wigginton, identified in the record as president of the National Civil Rights Museum Foundation, addressed the subcommittee and praised the partnership. "The relationship between the Lorraine Motel and the state of Tennessee is, I would argue, a model for other places in this country," he said, thanking members for their support. The subcommittee approved the lease; no additional conditions were recorded in the meeting transcript.