LA GRANDE — A La Grande Cemetery District project half a decade in the making is less than six weeks from becoming a striking reality.

The cemetery district is completing significant additions to Hillcrest and Grandview cemeteries. Two columbariums for ash niches have been installed at Hillcrest Cemetery and the district is in the process of creating a columbarium center at Grandview Cemetery, which should be finished in June, said Sue Anderson, manager of the La Grande Cemetery District.

“This is very exciting,” said Anderson, who said she has been working on the project for five years.

The new center at Grandview will have two columbariums and a gazebo on the south side of the cemetery. One columbarium was installed Monday and the second will be put in next month. Each is made of granite, weighs 10,300 pounds and has 72 niches for cremains. The center has concrete pads for both columbariums, which are being installed by Memorial Monuments, based in Meridian, Idaho, and with a La Grande office.

The gazebo, which will have a roof and be 12 feet by 18 feet, is being built by M.L. Construction of Sherwood and should be completed in a week. The gazebo will provide a place for small services and a site for people to sit and reflect, Anderson said.

The columbariums at Hillcrest are on the western edge of the cemetery. Each has 48 niches, weigh 7,800 pounds and both are accompanied by new metal benches on concrete pads.

Anderson said the columbariums fill an important need at Hillcrest because no cemetery plots are available there. This is a concern to many people who want to be buried with their families.

The new columbariums make it possible for people to reserve space and ensure their cremains will be interred in the same cemetery as their family members.

The columbarium center at Grandview will complement a mausoleum about 300 feet to the east. The mausoleum has niches for ashes and crypt chambers. The mausoleum, built in the 1970s, has not had any vacant niches or crypt space for about five years.

Anderson said the future columbarium center will occupy ground that could not be used for burial plots.

“It is hard ground and rocky. It is not good for burial plots,” Anderson said.

The addition of the columbariums and gazebo are being funded with money from the La Grande Cemetery District. Anderson said she began setting aside money for this work in a reserve fund five years ago.