The new Highland hospice building in Inverness is on target to be completed by September this year.
The vision for the building is now taking shape with the shell of nine new private courtyards and a 26ft-high, triangular-shaped sitting space visible at the site.
Despite the good progress, the charity is still £900,000 short of its public fundraising total of £4.5million.
Talks have taken place over the sale of more than half a million shares in Inverness Caley Thistle which were donated to the club by a mystery benefactor last month.
It has also emerged that a group of bout 45 athletes will trek in for eight days through the sweltering Grand Canyon in September to raise another £200,000. The group have already raised over £66,000.
The new building will be an upgraded and enlarged version of the former inpatient unit which had served the Highlands for more than 26 years.
Morrisons Construction are working on the refurbishments and an official completion date for the project has been set for September 12 this year.
The building will then be handed over to the hospice and the hope is to move patients back into the facility in October.
Hospice services are currently based at temporary locations while building work takes place in Inverness.
The inpatient unit is based in the Fyrish Ward of Invergordon’s County Community Hospital, while the day services and bereavement support team are based in Laxford House in the Cradlehall Business Park, Inverness.
The charity’s head of fundraising Andrew Leaver said: “I am very pleased that we are on target with the building work. The big difference will be the single bedrooms. Before we had four single and two thre-bedded rooms – but we will now have nine single and one three-bed. People will have the choice of sharing or being on their own.
“There will also be more space for families and there will now be an overnight bedroom where families can stay overnight, improving the patient and visitor experience.”
“The fundraising effort has been amazing. We are now over £3.5million and we are enormously grateful for all the support and just hope the Highland public can help us get to £4.5million in the next few months.”
“We have just over £900,000 left to raise and the bid difference will be the sale of the shares, as they could be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. We are hoping to sell them as a single lot. We have had people speak to us but nothing has been firmed up.”