Prince's Paisley Park approved by city to become a museum

CHANHASSEN, Minn., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- After months of work, Prince's home and recording studio officially became a tourist destination on Monday.

Prince's Paisley Park was unanimously approved by the Chanhassen City Council for rezoning after city commissioners and representatives of his estate worked out the logistics of making it a permanent museum.

More than 12,000 people have already toured the 65,000-square-foot facility, which Prince used as a production studio, concert and party venue and home -- about 600,000 people are expected to visit the museum each year.

"I think the city was very thoughtful in what they did," said Joel Weinshanker, managing partner of Graceland Holdings, which is running the museum for Prince's estate. "Prince's museum is going to outlive us all."

Tours of Paisley Park include Prince's recording and mixing studios, video editing suite, rehearsal rooms and private concert hall where he hosted occasional events and shows.

Handwritten notes Prince made while recording a not-yet-released jazz album, awards, instruments, outfits and other artwork are also on display in many rooms included on the tour.

The Bremer Trust, which manages Prince's estate, had been granted a series of temporary permits for months as they gave limited tours of the compound.

The city is closing a nearby road to limit pedestrian traffic and installing a median to prevent left-hand turns into Paisley Park, and intends to conduct additional traffic studies on the area as people start visiting the museum.

Tickets are already on sale to tour Paisley Park through the end of the year and will go on sale for tours in 2017 in mid-November.