Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times

The Shenandoah Building at Campbell Avenue and Williamson Road in downtown Roanoke houses Twist & Turns, Claire V. and the Mill Mountain Theatre Atelier, housing for actors.

Nine months after Mill Mountain Theatre last presented a play, the building that once housed its actors is for sale, its owners have confirmed.

Plans call for the Atelier building, located on Salem Avenue in Roanoke directly opposite the entrance to the Taubman Museum of Art, to officially go on the market early next year, said Jim Sears, president of Center in the Square. Center owns the Atelier, in addition to its signature Center in the Square building at One Market Square, which houses the moribund theater itself.

"The building is up for sale," said Sears of the Atelier. He said Center is looking for a real estate agent to represent the property. He also said they have heard from potential buyers, whom he declined to name.

"I can tell you that there is interest in the building," Sears said. "Hopefully, we will find the perfect match between interest and price."

Sears said an official asking price for the building, which was thoroughly renovated in 2000 for $4.5 million, has not been determined.

Plans to reinvent Mill Mountain Theatre, which shuttered its two stages last winter because of money woes, are ongoing. The theater will present a children's play next month, "Annie Jr." -- its first production since "Driving Miss Daisy" closed in February.

Theater board members said Wednesday that they still hope to be a part of the Atelier's future.

"I can confirm that actor housing will be an important requirement of the theater when it reopens," said the theater's board president, Jack Avis.

Board member Cynthia Lawrence said the theater would "absolutely" like to be a part of plans for the Atelier going forward. She said the theater will need tens of thousands of dollars worth of housing for actors annually if it loses the use of that building.

"We do need the housing. We're projecting about $60,000 annually in hard costs if we don't resolve the issue with the Atelier," Lawrence said.

Sears said they are proceeding carefully with the sale, and are not in any hurry. But he also said use of the building has dropped off since the theater closed its doors.

"They had high occupancy rates until they canceled their last shows," Sears said. He also said Twist & Turns, a retailer on the building's first floor, has indicated it does not intend to renew its lease. A call to Twist & Turns on Tuesday evening was not immediately returned.

"I think we have to look at these things in terms of five and 10 years," Sears said. "I think the best choice for Center's longevity at this time is to sell that building."

The Atelier, formerly the Shenandoah Hotel, was a redevelopment priority for Roanoke for years. Located between Salem and Campbell Avenues at Williamson Road, it was long considered a downtown eyesore and deterrent to development at a critical entry point to downtown.

Center purchased and renovated the building with the help of a fundraising campaign, turning its upper floors into 22 actors dormitory rooms and rechristening the building the Atelier, which is French for "studio." It has since provided the rooms to the theater and maintained them free of charge.

The building also included space for rehearsals and education, with retailers on the ground level.

The building's roof provides the platform for Roanoke's popular H&C Coffee sign. Sears said they would ask that any sales contract for the Atelier include a clause allowing the sign to remain there for at least 10 years, with Center handling maintenance costs.