Fire destroyed the Evangeline Recreation Centre in April. (Angela MacIvor/CBC)

Residents of Prince Edward Island’s Evangeline region are being asked to raise $350,000 towards replacing an arena that burned down last month.

The community contribution will represent a portion of the project’s expected $5.5 million budget.

The rest of the funding will come from insurance payments and federal and provincial government sources.

An accidental fire in April destroyed the Evangeline Recreation Centre in Abram Village, about 30 kilometres northwest of Summerside.

Nearly 150 people attended a meeting in Abram Village on Tuesday night to hear about plans to construct a replacement for the building.

The reconstruction committee said they would like to see the new facility open this winter.

When it reopens, the centre will offer curling as well as skating to cater to the changing needs of the community.

“We know that the demographics are not the same as they were 30 years ago,” said Ghislain Bernard, vice-president of the committee. “Our population is older and we need our facility to reflect that.”

The new building will also be made more energy-efficient to keep running costs down.

“We don't want to build anything the community can't afford to sustain,” Bernard said.

“We already do our annual fundraisers and we're not interested in doing any more than that,” he said.

Plans include lighting that can be set to three different levels, a wood pellet furnace and an ice surfacing machine that runs on electricity.