The Denis Theatre Foundation wants to create a cultural asset for the people, by the people, of Mt. Lebanon.

Of course, said executive director Anne Kemerer, any film buffs, be they from the South Hills or beyond, are welcome to pitch in as well.

"You can't help but be touched by Anne's enthusiasm," said state Rep. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, who was on hand Monday for the unveiling of plans to turn the crumbling Washington Road theater into a business district centerpiece of culture and community.

"We've been waiting for this day for a long time," said Mt. Lebanon commissioner Raja, who bought the building for about $670,000 in November after months of collaborating with Ms. Kemerer on possibilities of reviving the theater as a nonprofit institution.

As a first-term commissioner, Raja, who goes by his last name only, has removed himself from the project but he and his wife, Neeta, kicked off fund raising with a $5,000 donation.

The Denis Theatre opened in 1937 as a 1,200-seat, one-screen movie house and through the years went through various incarnations, playing both popular and art-house films. By the time it was shuttered four years ago, its cavernous space had been separated by drywall into five screening rooms.

The foundation estimates it will take $3 million in donations to renovate the faded building. The Youngstown, Ohio, firm of Balog Steines Hendricks and Manchester Architects Inc. has been chosen to work up plans for the new theater.

"We don't even want to start until we have the money to pay them," said Ms. Kemerer, adding that fund-raisers are in the planning stage.

Best-case scenario, "if all the money came in today," she said, "is 18 to 24 months."

Ms. Kemerer and Raja, who were independently researching the possibility of resurrecting the Denis before teaming up last year, envisioned the theater as a place where people could see the kind of films not often playing at the big cineplex.

They also wanted it to be an integral part of the Washington Road corridor, catering not just to art-film and documentary patrons, but senior citizens and school children. Tentative plans are for a "gathering place" downstairs, with meeting rooms for outside groups and a coffeehouse atmosphere for film discussion.

There have even been inquiries from a church about holding services there. A small stage, walled in behind the screen area of the downstairs rooms, also opens up the possibility of using the area for lectures or concerts.

"This is going to be a great community property," said Raja, who is president and CEO of a software development firm.

Right now, it takes pretty good vision to see beyond the mounds of debris in the theater foyer, the chipped plaster, the torn screens and the exposed ductwork in the ceilings.

The proposed plan calls for a configuration of three new screening rooms, renovated bathrooms, an elevator, new refreshment stands and digital projectors.

The Denis would be hollowed out, then rebuilt. The first steps -- cleaning piles of old film canisters, seat cushions and the like from the basement, taking out the old, dusty chairs -- is the sort of work that can be done now, by volunteers.

The foundation's Web site -- www.denistheatre.org -- has a wealth of information on the project as well as a detailed history of the old Denis. There is an open call for advisory board members and volunteers in a wide range of services, from cleanup to clerical, fund raising to donation of goods.

The foundation also can be reached at 412-56-DENIS.

Two cleanup sessions are scheduled for May 17, and a Hard Hat Preview is from 6-8 p.m. during Mt. Lebanon's June 6 First Friday.

"We are keeping the community hugely involved," said Ms. Kemerer, a 2006 recipient of Mt. Lebanon Magazine's "This Town Would Be Different Without" award.

Armed with an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, she has experience in turning grassroots to gold.

Last year, she co-chaired Mt. Lebanon public library's annual used book sale, which earned $65,000.

Ms Kemerer is project manager for the Denis revitalization and there are four others on the board, all Mt. Lebanon residents.

Rich Overmoyer is handling government and foundation grants, Cheri Acrey, marketing, Joe Senko, finances, and Jennifer Smokelin, legal.

Mr. Smith announced at the press conference that he has asked the state for $2 million.

As members of the media toured the saggy interior of the Denis, Ms. Kemerer swept a hand toward two large columns supporting the ceiling.

"It's going to be quite lovely," she said. "Although right now it's kind of hard to imagine 'quite lovely.' "