SLIDESHOW: Take a look at the Richmond Centerstage Project and renovations at the Carpenter Center

Seven years in the making. Fourteen months to go.

Construction on the Richmond CenterStage performing-arts center downtown remains on schedule for an opening in September 2009, project spokesman Jay Smith said yesterday.

Crews are building the rear wall to the expanded stage house of the Carpenter Center, which is undergoing a renovation and modernization and will reopen as the Carpenter Theatre.

They've also poured concrete for the loading dock from Seventh Street, just south of East Broad Street.

The steel skeleton of the former Thalhimer's department store building is being enclosed and configured into a complex that will include a performance hall, community playhouse, visual-arts gallery, arts-education center and offices.

"The entire exterior will be closed in by the end of the year," Smith said.

The performing-arts complex -- announced in early 2001 and scaled back at the insistence of Mayor L. Douglas Wilder in 2005 --now is expected to cost $73 million, an increase from last year's estimated total of $65 million.

Private donors are covering the increased cost, and fundraising continues toward a planned $20 million operating endowment, Smith said. So far, $4.5 million is available for the endowment.

"We are now at $77.5 million [raised]," he said. "We're continuing to raise money for the endowment so we can make the venues more affordable" for arts groups to rent.

The city is contributing $25 million to CenterStage and the renovation of the Landmark Theater through Wilder's City of the Future program to reinvest in public facilities. The CenterStage project also is being funded by private donors and the state and federal governments.

What facilities will be at CenterStage?

The renovated and acoustically enhanced Carpenter Theatre, plus new venues in Dorothy Pauley Square on East Grace Street.

The Carpenter Theatre will offer a flexible setup to accommodate 1,759 to 1,805 seats. The historic theater had about 2,000 seats when it was closed in late 2004. The new seats will be wider with taller backs and more leg room, and they may include drink-holders, Smith said.

The venues in Dorothy Pauley Square will include Rhythm Hall, a 150-person capacity space for performances and meetings, and the Showcase Gallery for the visual arts on the ground level; the 200-seat Libby Gottwald Community Playhouse on the second level; and the Genworth BrightLights Education Center on the third level. Offices for the Richmond Symphony and others will be on the third and fourth levels.

What's planned for the grand opening?

Officials are tightlipped about details but say a weekend of performances will showcase local arts groups.

What groups will make their home at CenterStage?

The Richmond Ballet, Richmond Symphony, Virginia Opera, Theatre IV, African American Repertory Theatre, Elegba Folklore Society, Richmond Jazz Society, School of Performing Arts in the Richmond Community and Richmond Shakespeare.

Who will operate CenterStage?

An operator for the performance venues has not yet been determined. For now, SMG is working as a consultant to RPAC Inc. -- which manages the Carpenter Center and Dorothy Pauley Square property for their owners -- the city and the CenterStage Foundation respectively.

The arts-education center will be run by the CenterStage Foundation. An operating budget for the CenterStage complex has not yet been determined, but the city has agreed to contribute matching funds of up to $500,000 per year to operate the complex and the Landmark.

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.