Ron Carter’s million-dollar mission began in May, when he picked up his 7-year-old son from a flag football practice.

Driving on Main Street in Zelienople, he saw the Strand Theater’s decaying front, discolored light bulbs, boarded windows and empty marquee.

It reminded Carter, 37, of the theater in Beaver he had visited when he stayed at his grandmother’s house. “It occurred to me that the building would be great for live theater.”

Complex plans to raise $1million to convert a run-down, one-screen movie theater into a venue for live, professional theater don’t quickly form in the minds of most people, but Carter had acted in high school and college plays, as well as in community theater as an adult.

Since the idea struck him about two months ago, Carter, who lives in Cranberry, has formed the Strand Theater Initiative, recruited a board of directors, started filing paperwork to form a nonprofit organization and consulted with architects, excavators and other construction experts.

Opened in 1914, the Strand closed in the early 1980s after owner Michael Nalevanko died. Multi-screen suburban cineplexes had won over the public from one-screen, downtown theaters, leaving few options for the building. Nalevanko’s widow, Gloria, put the building up for sale for $150,000, a price no one has been willing to pay so far.

After 15 years of working in marketing for companies such as FootLocker and American Eagle Outfitters, Carter recently started a freelance marketing business. With no boss, he has no obligations, so he’s using his flexible schedule to try something different.

He thinks he can turn the strand, an eyesore for more than a decade, into a jewel by this time next year – if he can find the money.

Rather than depend only on government and foundation grants, which usually have waiting periods, Carter wants to tap the goodwill of businesses. He said they’re more likely to spend money immediately.

“It all depends on the corporations,” he said.

Carter believes there’s a market. The Byham Theater and Heinz Hall in Downtown Pittsburgh hold 2,000 to 3,000 spectators, he explained. As a result, they get only Broadway smash hits. Many smaller professional shows would play a smaller venue near Pittsburgh, Carter said.

Judging from the filled storefronts on the rest of Main Street, Carter believes Zelienople is in good economic condition. With median incomes in Pittsburgh’s northern suburbs well above the national average, the surrounding area is a well-heeled market.

“I’m convinced of the legitimacy of a market for professional live theater in the north,” Carter said. “This theater looks like a good vehicle to bring it in.”

Borough leaders considered other proposals for the Strand: Demolishing the building for a parking lot, or buying it and renting it to the FBI. But borough council doesn’t want to get into the real-estate business, Zelienople Mayor Tom Oliverio said.

“Anything would be better than it sitting empty,” Oliverio said of Carter’s idea. “It has been an eyesore.”

Carter said he’s talked to borough leaders and he knows they don’t want to spend money on the Strand. But they will support him in other ways, he said. He thinks that support will come in handy when he seeks variances for the improvements he proposes.

Even without a formal study of the theater, Carter has an idea of what he wants. He’d like to build a balcony over the existing seating area to add about 100 seats. He also wants to extend a stage, add a dressing area and build additional bathrooms.

Behind the theater building, Carter plans to raze a boarded, decaying Victorian house and cut down trees to clear space for parking.

After renovations, space for parking probably won’t be adequate, so Carter wants to run a shuttle service between the theater and a nearby strip mall parking lot. He’ll offer on-site parking at a premium, with valet service.

He hopes Zelienople businesses will support the project. Restaurants especially stand to gain form a theater in town and the 300 to 400 visitors who might want dinner and a show, he said. During the day, other downtown customers could use the parking behind the Strand.

Since circulation the news in local newspapers, he said, he has received offers of help from the local theater community. He also said he’s getting steady responses to his e-mail address, thestrand@zbzoom.net.

“The way I envision it, it’s going to have a lot more charm and a lot more character than it ever did,” Carter said.