About seven years after the project was first mooted, Alexandra's multipurpose theatre will be open for business tonight.
''It's very exciting to have it all finished ... it really is just superb,'' Central Cinema Inc chairwoman Karin Bowen said.
The 2011 comedy film Whole Lotta Sole is to be shown tonight and tomorrow afternoon, and on Monday night the 2012 comedy Seven Psychopaths will be shown, though an official opening will not take place until April 5.
That official opening would be followed by two weeks' worth of events to ''show off'' the uses of the theatre, Mrs Bowen said.
The initial idea was to create a dedicated cinema for the town but that concept had evolved over time to a multipurpose theatre.
She described the finished product as a ''beautiful boutique theatre'' and said it would be used for the likes of lectures, drama and music performances and poetry readings.
Demolition of the old Pioneer Park sports pavilion and remodelling to create the 40-seat theatre began in early October. It is housed in the same complex as the Central Stories Museum, owned by the Central Cultural Centre Committee.
Committee chairman Bert Kemp said it was ''just great'' to have the project completed.
The entire redevelopment included internal toilets, a first for the building, and a small art gallery, next to the Russell Henderson Art Gallery, which was designed to allow the museum to show off its art instead of leaving it in storage, Mr Kemp said.
With money from funders such as the Lotteries Commission still coming in, come the official opening, the theatre would be debt-free, he said.
Mrs Bowen said the building cost was $530,000 and the cost of the audio-visual equipment was about $130,000.
A new digital projector was still on its way but she hoped it would arrive next week.
The new projector would allow the cinema to show more popular movies, many of which were in a format that would not run on the old projector.
It would also allow them to show 3-D movies.
''It's all state of the art,'' she said.
Three different groups have been involved in the project - the Central Cultural Centre Committee, the museum board and Central Cinema Inc.
