NEW YORK (Bloomberg) ¿ The Apollo Theater has launched a campaign to raise $44.5 million needed to complete a nine-year renovation of the famed Harlem venue begun in 2001.

When complete in 2010, the $84 million project will feature a restored terra-cotta facade and marquee, more seats, wider staircases and a cafe.

"We still want the Apollo to be a place where stars are born and legends are made," Time Warner Inc. Chairman Richard Parsons said this week at a press conference in Manhattan to unveil plans for the final renovation phase.

The theatre, which will close for about nine months for repairs beginning in January 2010, has already received $51.5 million from public and private donors, Jonelle Procope, chief executive officer of the Apollo Theater Foundation, said in an interview after the conference. Of the $96 million goal, $12 million is earmarked for an endowment that will fund future programming.

Parsons, chairman of the Apollo's board, will lead the national fundraising campaign. Music producer and board member Quincy Jones will assist in getting donors for the theatre's Name-a-Seat programme.

Contributions range from $1,000 to $25,000.

The first phase of the renovation began in 2002 with the restoration of the Apollo's exterior and marquee. Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners are expected to finish the interior, inspired by neoclassical Scottish architect Robert Adam (1728-1792), by late fall of 2010. Beyer Blinder Belle will expand the width of the staircases by about three feet.

The second floor will feature a new 1,400-square-foot room for education and community outreach programmes.

"The work we're doing now will significantly improve the experience of going to concerts," said Chris Cowan, the project's lead architect.

A new gallery, the Apollo Theater Archive, will showcase nearly 3,000 documents and memorabilia, such as the original seats, more than 2,000 photographs and audio and video recordings of past performances. The Apollo and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture will jointly develop special exhibits.

The Apollo ¿ which helped launch the careers of Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday ¿ was built in 1914 and featured striptease and vaudeville acts. Blacks weren't allowed to enter until 1928.

In 1934, the theatre started an amateur night show, presenting such future jazz legends such as Bessie Smith, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. Over the following three decades, every major black entertainer performed there, including Ellington, Holiday, Count Basie, Diana Ross, Louis Armstrong, Stevie Wonder, the Jackson Five and Lauryn Hill.

The theatre went bankrupt and closed in 1975. In 1981, former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton, a lawyer and co-founder of Inner City Broadcasting Corp., bought the Apollo and tried to resuscitate it yet couldn't attract major entertainers.

The Apollo Theater Foundation was formed in 1992 to preserve and revitalise the theatre. Since then, the organisation experienced management changes and financial problems.

Since becoming CEO in 2002, Procope said she has tripled the theatre's budget to $10 million this year.

The Apollo said it will expand its reach artistically by collaborating with Carnegie Hall on a project in 2009.

Carnegie Hall spokesman Justin Holden said details will be disclosed at a press conference on January 29.

"In the future, the Apollo will be a first-class performing arts center that will offer cutting-edge programming to a broad audience," Procope said.

The Apollo also is turning to entertainers such as Grammy Award-winning rapper and producer Wyclef Jean to upgrade its artistic lineup. "I'm excited about where the Apollo is going in the future and how can I bring more artists to the theater to help keep the music alive," Jean said in an interview before the conference.