Architects handling to project say excavation at the site just off the city's Benjamin Franklin Parkway should start in early fall. Construction is expected to start in the spring and take two years to finish.
While the surrounding area already has a number of churches, called wards, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the 53,000-square foot building will be the state's first temple.
The 200-foot-tall temple will be clad in gray granite and rival the height of the nearby Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul.
