OAKLAND — After lying vacant for more than 13 years, the historic 105-year-old Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center at Lake Merritt could open its doors again next year as a restored theater, office, retail and restaurant space, with a terrace overlooking the lake and a new promenade.

The city-owned convention center — built in 1914 and designated a historic landmark — once hosted Martin Luther King Jr., as well as performances by Elvis Presley, James Brown and the Grateful Dead. It closed in 2005 as concert promoters started booking it less and the city lost money. The building has since fallen into disrepair.

The city in 2015 authorized Orton Development of Emeryville to renovate the building and today — a couple of years after an exclusive negotiating agreement between the two expired — the developer is seeking approval of its proposal and hopes to break ground this summer, with a completion target of late 2020. The proposal was discussed at a Design Review Committee meeting Wednesday and is scheduled to go before the city’s planning commission March 6, then to the City Council.

“Our intent with this project has always been to restore this building to its former glory. It’s a beautiful building, and we want to enhance its connection to the site, enhance Lake Merritt and really get the public back into this building,” said architect Josiah Maddock of Heller Manus Architects.

Orton Development estimated in 2016 the redevelopment would cost $52 million, including a seismic retrofit of the building, which could be renamed the “Oakland Civic.”

The project is behind schedule, though, and the redevelopment consequently may cost more because of rapidly rising construction costs. In 2016, the developer said the project would be finished by 2018.

The 215,000-square-foot building is three stories tall and has a 164-space parking lot. Orton wants to restore the arena foyer and turn it into offices for local arts and nonprofit organizations, project manager David Dial said at this week’s committee meeting. There will also be practice rooms, rehearsal spaces, shops and storage for artists.

A restaurant with outdoor seating and a bar on the first floor are part of the plan as well.

The Calvin Simmons Theater — named after the first African-American conductor of a major symphony — on the west side of the building would have rearranged seating, three new box seating areas and new dressing rooms, according to the proposal. Much of the theater is already preserved, Dial said.

The north facade of the building, which includes historic cornices, awnings and signage, would be preserved. The doors would be replaced, the concrete staircases covered and a new 9,500-square-foot, 7-foot-tall raised terrace built and used as an outdoor public seating area.

Orton also wants to put a new illuminated marquee sign on the roof reminiscent of a 1949 one.

New wheelchair access ramps would be built at the building’s entrances.

The sidewalks surrounding the building would be replaced and loading and drop-off zones would be added along 10th Street. A total of 15 green ash and honey locust trees and 26 jasmine and fig vines are planned for around the property.

A two-way driveway and median west of the building would be replaced by a raised concrete promenade linking 10th Street to Lake Merritt Boulevard and serve as a gathering area outside the theater entrance.

The parking lot would be repaved and lined with evergreen and green ash trees.

Local businessman Randolph Belle said at Wednesday’s meeting he doubts the building would be able to serve the arts community. Belle is part of Creative Development Partners, a developer that had pitched a different plan for the site that included a hotel.

“It falls short of what we should expect for a public asset of such importance,” Belle said at the meeting. “With the arena as the primary economic driver, it will never pencil out with the proposed uses without heavy subsidization or prohibitive rents.”

Neighbor Marina Carlson said the developer’s plan to cover the staircases with a terrace would take away from the building’s beauty.

“To cover them up is not preserving the building, it’s just leaving a problem for somebody else to deal with at a future date,” Carlson said.

Architect Peter Birkholz, who chairs the city’s Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board, said the project has already undergone a rigorous review by the State Historic Preservation Officer. The developer is seeking federal historic rehabilitation tax credits for the project.

The project is scheduled to go before the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board on Feb. 4.

A 2006 bond measure would have funneled almost $150 million toward turning the building into a library, but it failed. In 2012, Occupy Oakland protesters broached a chain-link fence to get onto the property and the building subsequently was red-tagged.

“When the city has no money it seems like a win to get people to put private money into it, otherwise it’s just going to deteriorate,” Birkholz said.

Orton and City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas — whose district encompasses the building — plan to hold a community meeting sometime this month to get feedback on the proposal. Updates on the project can be found at www.theoaklandcivic.com.