Presley's public housing project getting redone

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Elvis Fans Website) - The former public housing project where Elvis Presley lived as a teenager is undergoing a major renovation.

The former Lauderdale Courts will become Uptown Square, a 347-apartment complex with both rent-subsidized and nonsubsidized apartments.

The site is several blocks north of the downtown business district and east of the Memphis Pyramid, a sports and entertainment arena.

A plaque noting that Presley's family lived at Lauderdale Courts went on display Wednesday. The Presleys lived at the project from 1949-53 after moving to Memphis from Tupelo, Miss.
Presley died at his Graceland mansion in Memphis in 1977. "I think these four years did more to shape who he became than any other period I know of," said Jack Soden, chief executive of Elvis Presley Enterprises, the business arm of the Presley estate.
The plaque notes that Presley practiced his guitar in the project's basement laundry room.

The future of Lauderdale Courts has been under discussion by the city for several years. Most of the original housing project is being renovated through a $36 million public-private measure, with the other parts demolished.
The first apartments are expected to be finished next fall.