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PROVO — People in Provo are starting to notice some significant changes to a historic building.
It has been three months since the groundbreaking for the Provo City Center Temple. During that time, plans have been finalized, but now visible progress on the new temple can be seen.
As Jeanette Pressley walks in downtown Provo to work, she is starting to see changes at the site of the Provo Tabernacle.
"I've noticed they've really started to get the construction going," she said. "We live really close, so we walk by all the time and we wondered when they would get going. It's neat to see it started."
Others who work nearby are excited to see the crane moving, and the debris from inside removed from one of Provo's historic landmarks.
"Two years ago, with the tabernacle burned down, it was a sad day in Provo," Scott Schwerdt said. "To see it coming back, particularly the changes in the past couple of weeks as the cupalas have been taken off, it's very impressive."
Provo City leaders see the new temple as another stimulus to downtown businesses. The portion of 100 South the city sold to the LDS Church has now been closed at University Avenue, but can be accessed from 100 West.
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As leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turned over the dirt, it was a moment of history in Provo."It's an exciting thing for Provo, to see the movement there," Mayor John Curtis said. "It was very important that the post office and any other entity that needed access retain that access, so we were able to find a portion of that street that worked well to sell to the LDS Church. I think it will be a great enhancement to their project."
For now, people say they are eager to watch as the burned out shell of the tabernacle is transformed into a temple.
"We're excited to see how it keeps going and how it is going to look like in the end," Pressley said.
Church officials have said the restoration of the old Provo tabernacle into a new LDS temple will probably take 2 to 2.5 years. It is on schedule to be finished by the end of 2014.
