The new Art Museum of Western Virginia will cost $46 million, two thirds of which already has been raised, museum officials revealed Monday.

The figures were made public at an official unveiling of the museum design. Early cost estimates for the project were $30 million to $35 million, but it was common knowledge its scope and cost had grown.

"We have raised over $30 million," said Jenny Taubman, who chairs the museum's fund-raising campaign. Museum executive director Georganne Bingham said the figure includes both money in hand and signed pledges. She was not sure of the breakdown.

"We still have a long and challenging road ahead of us," Taubman said. "It can't be accomplished by just a handful of people."

Still, the fund-raising total was an indication of how far the project has come since it was first announced, along with a $4 million gift from the city, in 2000.

So was Monday's design unveiling, held at Mill Mountain Theatre's Trinkle Main Stage and attended by some 200 people, including Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, Mayor Nelson Harris, museum officials and board members and the new museum's architect, Randall Stout.

"I am thrilled with Randall's architectural design," said the mayor, taking a firm stand on what seems certain to be a lively debate. The mayor also presented Stout with a key to the city at a museum function Monday night.

In addition to the city's $4 million, the state has pledged $2.25 million to the project, pending Gov. Mark Warner's approval. The federal government has contributed $1.25 million to the project as well.

Though the bulk of the project funding is likely to come from private sources, Goodlatte pledged at Monday's event to "keep at it until we get this job done."