Two buildings in the Oamaru Victorian Precinct are set for facelifts, after the Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust was awarded grants from the Otago Community Trust and the Lion Foundation.
A $35,000 grant from the community trust will help with the redevelopment of the Anderson's Store building, and a $20,000 grant from the Lion Foundation will go towards structurally strengthening both the Anderson's and Neill's Stores.
Whitestone trust chairman Phil Hope said it had been 20 years since any significant work had been carried out on the Anderson's Store, and the grant would help pay for the installation of a kitchen, office and toilet facilities, as well as an upgrade of the switchboard and electricity supply.
"The support from the Otago Community Trust and the Lion Foundation is hugely important in enabling the civic trust to continue to develop buildings for the benefit of the district.
"This latest project turns what was formerly 'just a warehouse' into a fabulous open light-filled space." Mr Hope said exterior woodwork had already been painted and Oamaru residents should watch and wait with interest to see what would happen behind "the newly painted red doors in Harbour St".
