A proposed restaurant and community center atop Roanoke's most prominent mountain won the approval Thursday of a nearby attraction -- Mill Mountain Zoo.

On a 9-1 vote, the zoo's board adopted a statement that reads: "We support Valley Forward and their mission, which includes the Rockledge concept."

Valley Forward, an advocacy group of young professionals, wants to build a 10,000-square-foot building that would house an upscale restaurant, a coffee shop and a community room on a site where the Rockledge Inn once stood.

The plan has been blasted by opponents who say it would ruin the natural setting of a city park and championed by those who see it as a cultural and economic boon for the region.

For the zoo, most of the board members see the project as one that will bring more visitors through its gates.

"That's what you always hope for," said zoo executive director Dave Orndorff. "You hope that people will spend additional time up here and enjoy everything the mountain has to offer."

Because the zoo is a nonprofit organization, its meetings are not open to the public. Orndorff declined to identify the lone dissenter in Thursday's vote. One member abstained and another member was absent.

Before construction could begin, the project must proceed through several regulatory hurdles, including zoning approval and scrutiny by the Mill Mountain Advisory Committee. A final decision will rest with the Roanoke City Council.

At a meeting of the advisory committee Thursday, it became clear that a vote by that panel is still months away.

Parks and Recreation Director Steve Buschor said he is in the middle of reviewing the project to see how it squares with the Mill Mountain Management Plan and various other land-use guidelines.

Buschor asked members of the committee to submit their questions and concerns to him by April 4. Those matters will then be discussed at the committee's April 24 meeting.

Steven Higgs, the committee chairman, said he doubted a vote would be taken then, because the panel could decide to hold a public hearing before making a recommendation.

Committee member Betty Fields raised concerns Thursday that Valley Forward has yet to specify exactly where the building would be built. The general location is a slope facing the city that is between the zoo and the Mill Mountain Star.

The zoo is the latest entity to back the Rockledge concept, according to John Lugar of Valley Forward. Other endorsements have come from Downtown Roanoke Inc., the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau and numerous civic and neighborhood groups.