--Multilevel rooftop gardens with plant-covered walls, a skylight installation, a butterfly habitat, a 5,500-gallon coral reef aquarium, high-tech interactive games in a new, larger atrium -- these are just some of the details included in the plans revealed Thursday for Center in the Square's planned $27 million renovation.
The nonprofit entity in downtown Roanoke, which provides rent-free space for several museums and arts organizations, also announced the public launch of a $9 million fundraising campaign.
Center in the Square has already raised about $14 million in tax credits and donations -- from such business heavyweights as Delta Dental of Virginia and Advance Auto Parts -- toward the project. 
Jim Sears, Center's president, said that within the next three weeks, the organization will start issuing requests for bids on portions of the renovation. The plan is for Center's Church Avenue building to be renovated in 2010 and its Campbell Avenue building to be renovated in 2011, with the grand opening to occur at the start of 2012, Sears said.
The proposed changes to the downtown institution also include the creation of three new galleries in the Science Museum of Western Virginia and completion of renovations to the History Museum of Western Virginia. The Campbell Avenue building facade will be restored to how in appeared in about 1917, Sears said. And it will have all new wiring and plumbing.
A presentation Thursday night at Hotel Roanoke by architecture firm Spectrum Design showed an antique exterior and a cutting-edge interior more reminiscent of the Taubman Museum of Art.
"We want to make sure that this was as astounding a cultural center as we could make it," Sears said.
The Harrison Museum of African American Culture is expected to move into the building from its location on Harrison Avenue when the renovation is done.
The renovation also includes a larger space for the Roanoke Weiner Stand, and places the Little Dipper ice cream stand in the atrium.
Some features, such as the Dorothy Gillespie sculptures and the wooden donor benches, remain in place.
Spectrum Design Vice President David Bandy said he and Sears met with state and federal officials to make sure the building's exterior design fit requirements for historic tax credits.
So far, Delta Dental has agreed to purchase $6.6 million in state tax credits to help fund the renovation, while Advance Auto Parts is expected to purchase federal tax credits and make a cash donation totaling $3.16 million. In all, the renovation's budget calls for $18.3 million in tax credits to cover two-thirds of the cost.
The center continues to seek prospects to purchase the remaining $8.54 million in federal tax credits, Sears said.
Officials with both Delta Dental and Advance Auto said the tax credits were mutually beneficial and stressed the Center's importance to the Roanoke community.
Center in the Square is eligible to have historic tax credits used on its behalf because the market area has been declared a national historic district, said Brian Wishneff, a consultant for the project.
A business can purchase a historic tax credit and potentially deduct an amount from its tax debt that's larger than the credit purchase price. The money goes directly to the project rather than to the government, in effect functioning like a grant, Wishneff said.
The center previously used the tax credits to fund renovations of the Shenandoah Hotel and the train station that became the O. Winston Link Museum.
As for Center in the Square's $9 million campaign, it has already raised $4.1 million in donations. John Harlow, the consultant directing the fundraising campaign, said Center's goal is to conclude the fundraising phase in early summer 2010.
The most obvious beneficiary of the renovations is the Science Museum of Western Virginia, which will have the use of the roof features and the atrium to enhance its programming.
"Much of what we're doing is exactly what Science wants," Sears said. "We're going to have the largest live coral aquarium of anywhere on the East Coast."
Science museum Director Nancy McCrickard could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The science museum is conducting its own $5 million capital campaign to raise money for new exhibits, Sears said. The science museum plans to create three new permanent galleries, called "How It Works," "Healthy Earth" and "Healthy Bodies."
The center is also home to Mill Mountain Theatre, which canceled its season and ceased most of its operations in January.
Sears said the renovations retain the space for the theater, giving Mill Mountain the opportunity to reopen in 2012.
Mill Mountain board member Jason Bingham said no concrete plans exist yet as to what the theater will do, but efforts to eliminate debt and create a financially feasible plan for reopening continue.
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