Memphis City Council members are scheduled to vote Tuesday, July 22, on a new lease for the Historical Daisy on Beale Street.

The proposed 50-year lease — between the City of Memphis, which owns the entertainment district, and Beale Street Development Corp. — is for the circa-1917 theater. BSDC’s offices are currently located inside the building, also known as the Old Daisy Theater.

The Old Daisy has been centerstage for the messy history of Beale Street control. Here’s the story.

As part of the deal, the development corporation would drop its claim to the master lease for the entire district, which has been disputed for at least the last decade.

The resolution under consideration says that if approved, the city’s real estate department “shall prepare and arrange for the execution of the lease and the mayor of the City of Memphis is hereby authorized to execute said lease or any other documents necessary to complete the lease.”

Mayor Paul Young told the City Council two weeks ago that he is working with the BSDC to turn the theater into an interpretive center on the culture and history of Beale Street.

The council also votes Tuesday on both a resolution and an ordinance by council member Chase Carlisle that would set specific standards for the Memphis Area Transit Authority to make regular financial reports to the council.

The ordinance is on the agenda for the first of three votes.

The council approved $30 million in funding for the bus system in the city budget for fiscal year 2026, which began July 1. But it put half of that funding in a restricted account to be used only after council review.

The transit authority currently is under interim leadership after Mayor Young replaced the entire MATA board and fired the previous interim CEO.

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The City Council also takes the first of three votes on Young’s proposal to direct 25% of city property tax revenue paid by xAI on its two sites in southwest Memphis to city projects in the immediate area surrounding both of the data centers.

The council is expected to delay final votes Tuesday on a pair of ordinances on the meeting agenda:

1. The ordinance to “create a framework for environmental reform” proposed by Council member Yolanda Cooper Sutton as a reaction to the xAI data center in southwest Memphis is likely to be delayed to the Aug. 19 meeting.
2. The ordinance proposing a set of fines for Downtown parking garages that have a problem with trash and violate new lighting standards will be delayed until Aug. 5.