Omarama residents will farewell their old memorial hall, and welcome the start of construction to remodel it into a community centre, with a picnic tomorrow.
The project was first mooted at a public meeting in 2009, a residents' and ratepayers' group called Omarama Inc was formed, and fundraising started in earnest in mid-2011.
Omarama Inc fundraiser and treasurer Glenys Dawson said that since then, it had raised the $730,000 needed to turn the complex from a hall into a modern, multipurpose community centre.
A contract had been signed with Amalgamated Builders, of Queenstown, for the building work, which would start in the middle of this month and should be completed by the end of July.
Tomorrow afternoon, members of Omarama Inc would clear the hall so work could start, Mrs Dawson said.
That would be followed by an ''old-fashioned picnic'', children's races and potluck finger food.
It was hoped residents would share their memories of the memorial hall, which had been built in 1952, she said.
The upgraded community centre will include a gymnasium and a 50sq m extension to house a Plunket and meeting room, and a medical consultation facility. It will have broadband internet and a library and provide a headquarters in civil defence emergencies.
The kitchen will be moved, plumbing, windows and wiring upgraded and the building relined.
