Byron Community Center in Final Stages of Construction

After three and a half years of planning and hard work, the new Byron Community Center is now looking at about two to three weeks left of finishing touches.

A building committee, as well as a finance committee, began planning and raising money for the new building back in spring of 2011.

They worked with contractors on new building designs.

Jaye Moeller, local business owner and board member, helped plan the new center.

“The old one was in bad shape,” said Moeller. “It hadn’t been used in 15 years. It was time to update.”

According to Moeller, a generous gift was donated to the foundation fund: a piece of land that the group sold to help pay for the construction project.

“It just blossomed from there,” said Moeller.

Once completed, the community center will be open to the locals and host a number of events such as weddings, anniversaries and meetings.

There is already an anniversary celebration scheduled for December; several seed and fertilizer companies have shown interest in the center to host patron meetings.

The Byron library, also in need of an update, will  be moved to the community center around December, according to Moeller.

The committee also plans to have a fitness center in the building. They are still in the process of raising money for it, but they hope to be done by January.

According to Moeller, members of the fitness center will have personal keys to use the gym at any time of the day.

Construction workers are attempting to finish key features such as the plumbing, ceiling and flooring.