This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Mormon Temple Site Preparation Expected Soon

Demolition work set to begin this summer, church and town officials said.

By Lisa Lenkiewicz

Plans for Connecticut’s first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Farmington are moving forward with site preparation expected to commence this summer.

Last year, the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the application and zone change for a 35,000-square-foot, white granite temple, topped by a tall steeple on 11 acres, at the corner of Melrose Drive and Farmington Avenue.

The structure will be called the Hartford Connecticut Temple. According to the organization’s website, www.mormontemples.org/hartford, Mormon temples are “aesthetically beautiful buildings with meticulous landscaping.”

By the end of June, the Merrill Lynch financial management offices in a building on the property on Farmington Avenue are due to be vacated, according to Farmington Town Planner Jeff Ollendorf. Then, the existing facilities on the site will be demolished. Construction of the landmark temple is expected to take two years.

Neil McMurdie, public affairs representative for the Church, told Patch the building permit is under review. He confirmed site preparation and demolition work is set to begin this summer. He also said it is too soon to confirm a date for an official groundbreaking ceremony, but “hopefully, it will be later this year.”

The Mormon temple in Farmington will be the first one to be built in the state of Connecticut. There is a Mormon temple in Manhattan and one in Belmont, Massachusetts, outside of Boston. Another temple is under construction in Philadelphia.

McMurdie said Mormon leaders have been reaching out to area religious leaders to answer questions about Mormons and the new temple.

Recently, approximately 40 people attended an informational session at the First Church of Christ in Farmington. At this session, Mormon leaders provided a general presentation about the project and then answered questions. The Mormons were invited by Rev. Steven Savides to speak at this session after Savides held a private meeting with three of their bishops.

“I invited them to come meet with the congregation,” said Savides. “It is part of our core values to respect and know other religions.” Savides added that his church’s confirmation class attended the session and learned about Mormons and their faith and value system.

“They left us with a sense they want to be good neighbors,” Savides concluded.

“It was great,” agreed McMurdie. “It was an opportunity for us to explain what we believe.”

Residents had raised concerns the temple would create additional traffic and that the temple’s lighting would be too bright. Many indicated they were concerned about the loss of taxable land due to the tax-exempt status awarded to religious institutions. However, the Planning and Zoning Commission said land use decisions are based on town regulations, not on tax matters. They added that an engineering traffic study concluded the project’s expected traffic impact was satisfactory.

The website created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to offer explanations about the building (www.mormontemples.org/hartford) states the temple’s purpose is to accommodate small groups throughout the day rather than a large congregation. Ample parking will be provided. The temple will be open throughout the week and closed on Sundays.

McMurdie explained a temple is different from the numerous Mormon meetinghouses and chapels around the state which are used for Sunday worship services, youth activities and weekly meetings and are open to the public. A temple is designed for sacred ceremonies such as marriages and baptisms and religious instruction. To members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, temples are the “house of the Lord,” the most sacred places on earth.

After the temple in Farmington is built, it will be open to the public for a limited time for tours. After the temple is dedicated, it will only be open to faithful members of the church. However, the gardens and grounds around the temple will remain open to the public.

For more information, visit www.mormontemples.org/hartford.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?