Requests for new roofs and air conditioning led the way among local cultural organizations in 2009 funding applications filed with the Allegheny Regional Asset District board this week.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is requesting $555,000 in capital funds from the asset district for a new roof for the Benedum Center (last renovated in 1987) as well as a new marquee for the Byham Theater, replacing its 13-year-old electronic sign.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra wants $145,000 to repair the roof on Heinz Hall, and Carnegie Museums is requesting $820,000 for air conditioning at Oakland's Carnegie Music Hall. It currently has none and gets too hot for many events in the summer.

In all, 108 cultural groups -- including libraries, parks and theater companies -- submitted applications to the board, which oversees annual allocations from the county's 1 percent sales tax. It will hold hearings starting in late August and make preliminary awards Sept. 29. The groups requested a total of $99.6 million in aid for next year -- $1 million more than the requests this year -- for a variety of projects.

The Cultural Trust, with a yearly budget of $51 million, asked the board for $1 million in operating support next year, to assist with its merger with Pittsburgh International Children's Theater and Festival, a new education center on Liberty Avenue, and a series of visual arts projects using lights in Downtown alleys.

The PSO requested $1.25 million to help its $31 million budget. It is forecasting a small deficit in 2008, reflecting the nation's sluggish economy, but reported its ongoing, $80 million capital campaign is going well. The campaign -- which is seeking to boost the symphony's $118 million endowment -- is set to ask for public donations this fall.

Other requests include:

• $600,000 for lighting at the main stacks at Carnegie Library in Oakland, which lost natural outdoor light after the dinosaur hall renovation at Carnegie Museum of Natural History; $1.5 million for air conditioning at various library branches; and $950,000 for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance systemwide.

• $370,000 in operating support for Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

• $250,000 for construction of Pittsburgh Opera's new space in the Strip District.

• $50,000 operating support for Pittsburgh Glass Center, which is in the midst of a financial recovery plan.

• $48,700 for furniture for Pittsburgh Public Theater, much of it for the 12 apartments it keeps for visiting performers.

• $25,000 for a new costume conveyor system at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.