Memphis City Council members approved a bond resolution that expands the scope of The Pyramid renovation by Bass Pro Shops.

The project now includes a $75 million city buyout of the county’s interest in the Memphis Cook Convention Center, $5 million more for what had been a $10 million city purchase of the Lone Star concrete facility near The Pyramid and a $25 million seismic retrofit of The Pyramid and the land bordering the Wolf River Harbor.

The new amounts are in addition to $63 million the council approved a year ago.

The Center City Revenue Finance Corp. is scheduled to vote Tuesday, Aug. 23, on issuing the bonds. The bond closing is scheduled for Sept. 29, with the first construction on The Pyramid to begin Oct. 1.

The first construction would be by the city to make the structure ready for Bass Pro Shops, under terms of an earlier agreement between the city and the outdoors retailer for a superstore and other attractions, including a hotel on the property.

Bass Pro Shops executives have set a new date of Aug. 1, 2013, to reopen The Pyramid.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. described the additions to the project beyond The Pyramid as a “transformation” of the city’s riverfront when those additional pieces are added to other riverfront development plans, including the completion of the Beale Street Landing project and its use as the home port of The American Queen steamboat.

Wharton and city Housing and Community Development director Robert Lipscomb said the city would assume the county’s debt in the convention center, but it would also gain complete control of the facility.

More importantly, the city would gain control of all of the Tourism Development Zone revenue from the convention center that is now split between the two governments.

The TDZ includes a much larger area and sales tax revenue generated in that area now goes to pay the convention center debt. It would also go to pay the debt of the city’s share of the Bass Pro Shops/Pyramid conversion.

The Wharton administration says its conservative estimates show the TDZ revenue would pay the debt with money left over and stressed to council members there would be no use of city general fund tax revenue to finance any of the project.

Development of the nearby commercial Pinch District remains separate from the Bass Pro Shops project to be undertaken by the city of Memphis. Bass Pro Shops executives had originally included it among their priorities along with The Pyramid, even hiring a developer at one point before backing off the wider scope.

Shelby County commissioners will get their first look at the buyout proposal Wednesday, Aug. 17, during their committee sessions.

The council vote was 12-0, with council member Kemp Conrad recusing himself.