The plan is part of the city’s southern gateway revitalization.

LEWISTON – Theater-goers will have to wait until the fall for a glimpse of a proposed renovation at The Public Theatre.

A money drive designed to raise $2.4 million to pay for renovations and expansion of the Maple Street theater is expected to kick off in November. Specific designs include a renovated lobby, stage and audience seating area, more storage and a cleaned-up face.

“It’s not like the public doesn’t know what we’re planning,” said artistic director Christopher Schario. He said the theater would hold off on its official announcement until the campaign kicks off.

“Then when we’re ready, we’ll come out and say, Here it is,’ and talk about our goals and get help to make it happen.”

Renovations will be broken out into four phases, Schario said. The first, an expansion along the Park Street side of the building, will begin later this spring. That will add new bathrooms and storage space to the building.

The last three phases won’t begin until after they’ve raised the money to pay for the work. Schario said he hopes to have the entire building renovated by 2007.

“Three years is about right for a project like this,” he said. “If you go too far beyond that, people tend to lose interest.”

The renovation is part of Lewiston’s southern gateway revitalization scheme.

Theater officials displayed an edited photograph of the current building at the Blaine House Conference on Creative Economy at the Bates Mill on Thursday. That stirred up a little interest.

“Given all the work that’s been done at the gateway, ours should go right along with those other projects,” Schario said. “It should be dramatic.”

The city unveiled its plan for lower Lisbon Street in spring 2003 to redevelop the block of buildings surrounded by Lisbon, Maple and Canal streets.

Work on the Oxford Networks office building across the street from The Public Theatre is already under way. Oxford Networks also built a switching station for a fiber-optic cable network just north of the site and installed a 28-foot-wide satellite dish on top of the nearby Pontiac Building.

Other new development includes the Lewiston campus of Andover College, which opened for classes last month, and VIP Auto Discount Center, which announced plans to build its flagship store at the gateway. The lot between the VIP and the Public Theatre is planned for a restaurant.

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