The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plans to begin construction in September on a new meetinghouse in Willard that will serve 846 members from three local congregations.
The project is being developed by the Springfield Missouri Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to a community announcement. The 18,275-square-foot wood-frame meetinghouse with masonry brick veneer will be built on a 7.94-acre site at 7875 W. Farm Road 76.
Members of the Willard, Orchard Hills and Clear Creek congregations are expected to use the facility once it is completed.
"We are excited to make this investment in the Willard community," President Devon Jarvis, stake president of the Springfield Missouri Stake of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in the announcement. "This new building reflects the growth we are experiencing locally and will provide a place where families can worship, gather and serve together for many years to come."
Construction planned through October
Killian Construction will serve as general contractor for the project.
Construction is expected to begin in September, with tentative completion anticipated in October.
According to the announcement, the Willard meetinghouse is part of broader growth for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in southwest Missouri, where additional meetinghouses and a temple are planned or under development in the greater Springfield area.
A separate project is also planned in Hermitage, where the church intends to remodel an existing commercial building into a meetinghouse serving approximately 128 members of the Pomme de Terre Branch.
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This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Church plans new Willard meetinghouse for 3 congregations
