The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expects to break ground next year on the Fairview Texas Temple after a years-long battle with the Collin County town over the height of its spire.
The church plans to start construction on the 30,300-square-foot, 120-foot-tall temple in February, filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation show, and the structure is expected to cost $9.4 million. The church has not officially announced a date for the groundbreaking or the estimated cost of the temple.
“We are eager for an additional house of worship in the D-FW area that will allow us to practice our faith,” said church spokesperson Melissa McKneely. “This movement that we’re seeing, hopefully, is one of the best Christmas presents we could get.”
Tension has simmered over the proposed temple for two years, and the church first announced plans in Collin County in 2022. The church originally proposed a nearly 174-foot-tall temple in Fairview, taller than any structure in town, including its water tower. Fairview residents decried the temple’s height in a town that claims a rural identity.
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The town rejected a permit for that design. After mediation, a threatened lawsuit and repeated outcry from green-shirted “Fairview United” members who opposed the temple, the church and town finally reached an agreement when the Town Council voted in April to approve the permit for a 120-foot-tall temple.
Church members believe they have a religious right to build the temple as they see fit. The church’s website states the Fairview temple will serve nearly 23,000 church members in the area and support demand for temple worship in a rapidly growing region.
Currently, the region’s only LDS temple in Dallas is struggling to serve 100,000 members, including some as far away as Louisiana, McKneely said previously. To increase capacity in North Texas, a new temple is under construction near Fort Worth.
The Fairview temple is planned for Stacy Road, adjacent to the church’s existing meetinghouse. Fairview is a town of about 11,000 people, roughly 30 miles north of Dallas.
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Construction is expected to be completed in July 2028, records show, but McKneely said it’ll likely be another three years before the temple opens its doors. Design firm REES, with offices in Texas and Oklahoma, will work on the project, according to the filing.
In June, Fairview residents filed a lawsuit challenging the Town Council’s permit approval and the validity of the vote. A judge has not yet ruled in the case.
“It’s time for us to rally together as a community again,” said Fairview Mayor John Hubbard, who voted against a conditional use permit for the temple in April. “We’re happy that we came to an agreement. It may have been a rough time getting to that agreement, but I think in the end, it really works out for everyone.”
Email tips on all things Collin County to lilly.kersh@dallasnews.com.