Temple Construction Progress Update
(current as of 3/15/17)
Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 4 scheduled
for dedication; 7 under
construction; 3 more
have construction pending, but all of them are anticipated to commence
construction before summer this year; 1 scheduled for
rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 2 renovations scheduled; 8 announced. NOTE: With
two groundbreakings having already taken place this year, the chances are very
good that we will see several others also have a groundbreaking in 2017, and,
where I feel comfortable in doing so, I have now provided a window in which I
am estimating that future groundbreakings for announced temples will take
place.
Dedication scheduled:
156. Paris France
Temple: Accepting reservations for public open house (which will run from
Saturday April 22-Saturday May 13 (excluding the Sundays of April 23 and 30 and
May 7)); dedication scheduled for Sunday May 21, 2017.
157. Tucson
Arizona Temple: Entrance doors and Holiness
to the Lord plaque installed; accepting reservations for public open house
beginning Monday May 15, 2017; (which is scheduled to take place from Saturday
June 3-Saturday June 24 (excluding the Sundays of June 4, 11, and 18)); dedication
scheduled for Sunday August 13, 2017.
158. Meridian
Idaho Temple: Interior painting and millwork underway; dedication
scheduled for Sunday November 19, 2017.
159. Cedar
City Utah Temple: Installing glass; hanging drywall on interior; dedication
scheduled for Sunday December 10, 2017.
Under Construction:
160. Rome Italy Temple:
Interior work progressing; completion anticipated sometime during early-to-mid 2018.
161. Kinshasa
Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Making concrete pours for window
openings and to seal tops of concrete block walls; completion anticipated
sometime during early-to-mid 2018.
NOTE: For the two temples above,
they seem to be interchangeable in terms of which one might potentially be
completed and dedicated first. I am trying to keep an eye on any and all
developments and will adjust their listings as necessary once more is known.
162. Barranquilla
Colombia Temple: Steel framework for cupola installed; waterproofing membrane
attached to exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime during mid-2018.
163. Concepcion Chile
Temple: Exterior cladding going up on north wall; framing the interior walls; completion
anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2018.
164. Durban South Africa
Temple: Setting rebar and concrete forms for temple
exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2018.
NOTE: For the two temples above,
they seem to be interchangeable in terms of which one might potentially be
completed and dedicated first. I am trying to keep an eye on any and all
developments and will adjust their listings as necessary once more is known.
165. Fortaleza Brazil
Temple: Parapet poured; some scaffolding coming down; preparing to pour tower
base; completion anticipated sometime during early-to-mid 2019.
168.
Lisbon Portugal Temple: Excavation completed for temple
foundation; structural framing going up for meetinghouse; completion
anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2019.
Construction pending:
166. Winnipeg
Manitoba Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; awaiting commencement of full-scale operations, which may occur
in April or May 2017 (construction currently delayed by a very bad Canadian
winter); completion anticipated sometime during early-to-mid 2019.
NOTE: Once construction commences,
it is anticipated to last around 20 months (approximately 1.67 years.) It is a
smaller edifice that is being built to at the moment serve just the one stake
in Manitoba. So it might be completed sooner than that. It all depends on how
soon construction will be able to start, and how quickly it progresses after
that.
167. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Groundbreaking
held Saturday March 4, 2017; awaiting commencement of full-scale operations (which is
anticipated ASAP); completion anticipated sometime during mid-2019.
NOTE: Once construction commences,
it is anticipated to last around 24 months (2 years) in view of it being the one
and only building on the project.
169.
Arequipa Peru Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday March 4, 2017; awaiting commencement of full-scale operations (which is
anticipated ASAP); completion anticipated sometime between late 2019-early 2020.
NOTE: Once construction commences,
it is anticipated to take roughly 28 months (2.25 years) to complete. This is
because there are neighboring construction projects involved that will all be worked
on simultaneously.
Rededication Scheduled:
8. Idaho Falls Idaho
Temple: Closed for renovation; accepting reservations for public open house beginning
Monday April 3, 2017; rededication scheduled for Sunday June 4, 2017.
Undergoing Renovation:
20. Jordan River Utah
Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime during early-to-mid
2018.
41. Frankfurt Germany
Temple: Closed for renovation; some exterior stone removed; foundation exposed;
old meetinghouse razed; rededication anticipated sometime during early-to mid-2018.
Renovation Scheduled:
13. Oakland California Temple: Scheduled to
close for renovation in February 2018; rededication anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2019.
16. Washington D. C. Temple: Scheduled to close
for renovation in March 2018; rededication anticipated sometime during early-to-mid 2020.
NOTE: In view of the fact that we
have already had two temple groundbreaking events so far this year, it is more
than likely that we could see several others announced between the remaining
nine months or so until the end of the year. For the very first time as part of
this construction progress update, I am featuring a potential groundbreaking time
frame for the temples listed below. Enjoy!
Announced:
170. Harare Zimbabwe
Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; site announcement and
groundbreaking anticipated sometime later this year.
NOTE: I am thinking
we could see a site announcement for this temple prior to General Conference in
April and that that the actual groundbreaking for that temple might be held
sometime between the dedication of the Paris France Temple on May 21 and the
rededication of the Idaho Falls Idaho temple on June 4. Time will tell how
accurate that might be. I feel confident enough to venture a predicted
groundbreaking date of May 27.
171. Port-au-Prince
Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; temple site confirmed;
groundbreaking not announced.
NOTE: This
weekend, during a visit to Haiti by Elder Neil L. Andersen, who was there on
assignment to preside at a stake conference in Haiti, he announced that the
Church had purchased the site that was speculated by members in the area to
house the temple, and that Haiti’s first temple would indeed be built behind
the chapel on Route de Freres (French for “The route of brothers”). The LDS
Church Temples Site indicates that a groundbreaking for that temple may occur
next year. However, an official temple site announcement indicates to me that
the groundbreaking might be more imminent than that. Therefore, it would make
the most sense to me if such a groundbreaking happens sometime between mid-and-late 2017. It might even be that
this could happen before the announcement of the site and groundbreaking for
Zimbabwe. Stay tuned for more on that as I learn of it.
172. Bangkok Thailand
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
NOTE: Some
reports have indicated that a Church office building may be reconstructed as a multi-purpose
building that will not only continue to house Church offices but also function
simultaneously as both a meetinghouse and a temple as well, in the mold of
existing edifices like the Hong Kong China and Manhattan New York temples. It
could be that we will see a groundbreaking for the first Thai temple sometime
between mid-and-late 2017 as well.
173. Lima Peru Los
Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: Even
though this was the last of the four temples that was announced most recently,
and in spite of the fact that an official site has not yet been announced, the
announced name for this second temple in Lima is indicative that it will be
constructed somewhere in the Los Olivos District. For that reason, it seems
appropriate to put this temple ahead of the rest of the others, and to say that
a groundbreaking could take place there as soon as early 2018
174. Abidjan Ivory
Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
NOTE: The first of the three
announced almost two years ago, the Ivory Coast Temple is one that has long
been awaited by Latter-day Saints. If the significant growth in Cote D’Ivoire
continues, the likelihood increases that additional temples may soon be
announced there as well. I have heard rumors to the effect that there are at
least two such sites under current consideration, but I have found nothing to
substantiate this. Given where other temples are in their paths toward a
groundbreaking, I feel it is not out of line to anticipate that we could see a
groundbreaking for this temple taking place around the same time as the
previous one, in early 2018.
175. Quito Ecuador
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
NOTE: Ecuador’s second temple,
which will be based in that nation’s capital city, was announced less than a
year ago. As one of three new temples for South America, a region in which the
Church always has seen massive and extensive growth, this new Ecuadoran temple
was announced around 33 years after the first Ecuadoran temple in Guayaquil. As
a side note, the time intervening between the announcement of that first temple
in that nation and its groundbreaking around 14 years after the fact ranks as
the longest such time period in the history of the Church. I have every reason
to believe that there will not be too much of a delay, and certainly nothing
like the one for the first temple, in terms of the time between the site
announcement for Quito and its groundbreaking, which I believe will happen
somewhere around mid-2018.
176. Belem Brazil
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
NOTE: Brazil remains without a
doubt one of the very fastest growing nations in terms of the Church’s presence
there. Slated to be the ninth temple for Brazil, the one announced for Belem
inches Brazil closer to reaching the number of operating temples in Utah,
which, with the dedication slated in December for the Cedar City Utah Temple,
will reach 17. Right now, Brazil is just over halfway there, with the Belem
temple bringing that total to 9. If there is any merit at all into what I have
heard about possible future temple sites for Brazil, that number could increase
by at least five that I have heard some rumor about thus far, bringing the
grand total of Brazilian temples in that case to 14. Getting back to speaking
of this temple, if the Church is able to get started on it by having the
groundbreaking happen in mid-2018,
then we will once again see three temples simultaneously under construction in Brazil
for the first time since 2000, and those three will continue to coincide in
terms of simultaneous construction at least for the next nine months or so (0.75
years at minimum), which will mark the next temple dedication in Brazil.
177. Urdaneta
Philippines Temple: Stalled in planning and approval phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
NOTE: This
temple is technically ahead of those listed above in terms of its status as
being in the planning and approval phase, because it is unclear (and perhaps
unknown to all but a few) why progress has been stalled or how long those
delays might last. For that reason, it is possible that we could see any or all
of the temples above have their constructions commence before anything gets
resolved with this one, and perhaps even have some others announced in the
interim that will also have construction commence before anything is resolved
here. My personal hope is that we might see the delays stalling the process
resolved within the next year, and that a groundbreaking could happen there
sometime between mid-to-late 2018. That said, if the delays continue, it could
happen that this temple might become the one with the longest period of time
between its announcement and groundbreaking. The current record for that is 14
years, 4 months, and 11 days from the announcement date. The Urdaneta
announcement date was October 2, 2010. In adding the time span to that date, we
discover that this temple will have that distinction as of Thursday February
13, 2025, unless the delays are cleared up sometime before then. I for one am
hoping with all the energy of my soul that we will never again have a temple
that is delayed for that long, but time will tell.
NOTE: Given
how much progress we have seen with temples recently, it is not hard to believe
that we will see many more temples announced in the near future. There have
been reports of several cities that have already had a site purchased already.
These four have been identified by name: Managua Nicaragua, Port Moresby Papua
New Guinea, Bentonville Arkansas, and Missoula Montana. If other potential
temples have had a site purchased, they have yet to be identified as such. As
the apostles travel, they sometimes have felt impressed to publicly propose a
temple for the areas they visit. Such temples have been proposed in New Delhi
India (in June 1992 by Elder Neal A. Maxwell; may not be likely due to the
prevailing political and religious obstacles to such an edifice); Vilnius
Lithuania (in May 1993 by Elder M. Russell Ballard); Nairobi Kenya (in February
1998 by President Gordon B. Hinckley; this temple might have an official
announcement within the next year or so, as Kenya ranks as the 10th
of the top ten countries with the most Church members without a temple);
Maracaibo Venezuela (in August 1999 by President Hinckley); Singapore (in
January 2000 by President Hinckley); for the Southwest Salt Lake Valley (in
October 2005 by President Hinckley; NOTE: While some contend that this temple
announcement has already happened, verifiable sources widely available prove
otherwise); Managua Nicaragua (in January 2012 by then-Elder Russell M. Nelson;
the fact that it has not only been publicly proposed but has had a site
purchased for it makes it very likely; it is also the 1st of the top
ten countries with the largest LDS presence without a temple); Missoula Montana
(sometime in 2014 by Elder David A. Bednar; while the report of this proposal
has yet to be verified, the fact that there has been a purchase of a temple
site seems to indicate that it is a most imminent possibility); and for the
Kasai Region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (in February 2016 by Elder
Neil L. Andersen). I have heard many reports of several more temple sites being
procured, but the nature of those reports are such that they have yet to be
verified.
Key:
Bolded numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a
scheduled dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as
dedication or groundbreaking dates.
Italicized numbers and
text denote temples whose numbers may change based on the order in
which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.
Underlined numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval,
and groundbreaking.
Red text denotes changes from
the last posted temple progress report.
