Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is undergoing a US$4.5m (€4.2m, £3.2m) makeover, the first phase of a multi-million dollar redevelopment of the 20-year-old visitor attraction.

The first phase of “Museum 2.0” will eventually include the redevelopment of the hall of fame and its main exhibit areas.

Themed around the upcoming Rock Box project – a public art installation produced in partnership with Destination Cleveland and the museum – the BRC Imagination Arts-designed plaza will follow a black and red theme, with black intended to evoke black leather and red to represent the energy of music.

The exterior of the museum in phase one will feature new grass areas, lighting, loudspeakers, a concert stage and an outdoor café. Additionally, the museum’s main plaza will gain a striking work comprised of a row of 6-foot-tall red letters spelling the words “Long Live Rock”.

Incorporating music into the design, the outdoor planters, which currently contain plastic shrubs, will be covered with sheets of steel that could be “tuned” using varying levels of sand to create musical drums.

As part of Rock Box, speakers installed just over a mile north of the museum, designed by Mark Reigelman II, will play instrumental sections from rock classics, connecting the downtown area to the museum under the idea of public art and public music.

Interior design will include a redesigned first floor and lobby, which will include feature retail and café areas.

The museum plans are part of a wider regeneration of the surrounding area, with other developments in North Coast Harbour including a nearby two-storey Mexican restaurant and tequila bar, and a neighbourhood of apartments, stores, restaurants and a public boardwalk.

The museum has already gained funding for phase one from a selection of public and private donors and sponsors, with CEO Greg Harris saying the revamp will break ground as soon as city approval is granted. A completion date has been set for Q3 2016.