Lease signed for site of Grammy Museum Mississippi

CLEVELAND — Delta State University has entered into a lease agreement with the Cleveland Music Foundation to provide the property for the construction of the Grammy Museum Mississippi in Cleveland.

Delta State University president Dr. John M. Hilpert and Lucy Janoush, president of the Cleveland Music Foundation, the non-profit entity set to build the museum, signed a 99-year lease agreement designating a four-acre tract of property located on the south end of the Delta State golf course along Highway 8 as the site for the construction of the museum.

Groundbreaking is tentatively set for late February.

As part of the agreement, the Cleveland Music Foundation will provide the funding and resources for the reconstruction of the golf course so that it remains a nine-hole facility.

The signing comes after Gov. Phil Bryant’s recent presentation of a $1-million check to the Cleveland Music Foundation as the first installment for the establishment of the first official Grammy museum outside of Los Angeles.

Grammy Museum Mississippi will be a 20,000-plus-square-foot facility dedicated to exploring the past, present and future of music and the cultural context from which it emerges. The museum’s permanent exhibition will utilize film, video, interactive kiosks and, of course, music.

The museum will be closely affiliated with the Delta Music Institute (DMI), Delta State’s accredited program of music industry studies. A student exchange program will be developed between Grammy Museum Mississippi and Grammy Museum at L.A. LIVE to offer qualified DMI students opportunities to earn college credit and interact with their counterparts at Los Angeles area colleges and universities.