Document text
LDS temple planned in Central Point Construction to begin in one month By KATHY MORGAN The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will build its newest temple in Central Point. Construction will begin in mid-May on the $3.2 million complex expected to be completed by mid-January 2000, said Edward Hanson, president of the Central Point Stake. When completed, the Central Point temple will bring to 105 the number of temples currently under construction or in service for the LDS Church. It will be the second temple in Oregon. The other one faces Interstate 5 near Lake Oswego. The 10,700-square-foot Central Point temple -- about one-tenth the size of the Lake Oswego structure -- will be built behind the existing stake building on Grant Road. The other location being considered was in Medford on Juanipero Way. "The Central Point City Council voted last week to annex our property," said Hanson. "That made it easy." After the annexation, the final decision to build the temple at the Grant Road location was made by church building officials in Salt Lake City. Joseph Marty, the designated project architect from Salt Lake City, will be in charge. Medford architect Daniel Park will consult. "I've been doing work for the church for the last 11 years, I never dreamed this would happen," Park said "Getting to work on a temple is the opportunity of a lifetime." So far, Park has done the annexation work and site planning for the temple. Now he is getting ready for the construction phase. Two local general contractors have been approved to bid on construction. They are Adroit Construction of Ashland and Corey Vitus of Medford. "You don't have to belong to the church to get a contract," Park said. "You just need to know the procedure. It's quite involved." Three firms from Salt Lake City will be bidding as well: McCullough Construction, Arnelle-West Inc., and Bud Bailey Construction. The bids must be submitted by May 3. Park and members of the church will go over the bids and award the contract. The expected cost of the building is $250 a square foot. "That's very much on the high end," Park said. "$110 a square foot is about average for a building." Park said the entire veneer of the temple will be granite. "Even the fence columns, retaining walls and the platform it sits on. That makes it a challenge." "Finding local trades people who can do it will be difficult," he said. Park said there will be plenty of jobs for locals. "Excavating contractors, framing contractors, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, carpet, painting and flooring will be hired locally by the contractors," he said. The temple is part of a program initiated a few years ago by the church to build smaller temples in more remote areas, according to Hanson. Southern Oregon was chosen on the basis of the number of LDS members in the area. There are 3,000 members at the Medford Stake and 3,000 at the Central Point Stake, Hanson said. Plus there are stakes in Grants Pass, Klamath Falls, Roseburg and Coos Bay. Another determining factor was the distance to another temple. Lake Oswego and Oakland, Calif., are the two nearest temples. Groundbreaking ceremonies will take place in mid- to late May. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA