By Emily Miller
REXBURG—Rumors are swirling about what is in store for the announced site of a new temple in Rexburg for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Rexburg residents (including this reporter) have heard of everything from commercial and residential projects to a new Mission Training Center, to an additional church office building as potential additions to the temple construction project.
Scott Johnson of Rexburg’s Office of Public information has heard the rumors, too, but until the church submits plans to the city, Johnson says everything is speculation.
“We’re at that point right now where they (the church) could turn around and just do a temple,” Johnson says, adding that, at the time of our interview, no official development plans had been submitted to the city.
The church announced plans to build a second temple in Rexburg during the church’s General Conference on October 3. The new temple is to be built on the north end of Rexburg, across from the Walmart shopping center. The site is about 3.3 miles north of the church’s existing temple on Seventh South.
According to an article from EastIdahoNews.com, the church purchased 100 acres in July after months of negotiations.
Johnson says the entire parcel is within city limits, so no annexations will be necessary for the temple construction or the accompanying plans for the purchased land. He said the conversation around the project has included residential and commercial aspects, but that everything is subject to change until plans have been submitted and approved.
“Until we actually get something turned into us we really don’t know,” Johnson says, adding that the entire project would be “potentially more than just a temple.”
Johnson acknowledges that news of the temple construction is likely to prompt additional growth in Rexburg, including growth in the business sector.
“We will continue to see increased interest, for sure, in the city,” he says. “More importantly, it’s that, combined with our current growth—the census and those types of things—that are beginning to put us on the map. We’re getting to a size where a lot of companies begin to take interest.”
According to the U.S. Census, Rexburg’s population has grown by nearly 14,000 since the 2010 census.
Johnson says the city receives daily inquiries from those who want to be in the know and potentially join in the future development in growing areas of the city, but that as far as the temple site is concerned, everything is hypothetical until the church submits official plans.
“We don’t get too excited here at the city until things start being submitted,” he says. “There appears to be a lot of interest right now, and we’ll see how it all plays out.”
Johnson says the church had not given a timeline for the temple construction project, speculating that it could take up to six years.
See RexburgCommons.com for more local news and events, and check out our community calendar here.
