Church outlines Salt Lake Temple renovation, plans public open house April–October 2027

Juan Bracera, government community relations manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told the Salt Lake County Council on Tuesday that the Salt Lake Temple renovation includes major seismic upgrades, accessibility improvements and expanded visitor facilities — and that a public open house will run from April through October 2027.

Bracera described the Salt Lake Temple as “a very, holy place” for church members and said the renovation’s aims are to reinforce the temple’s original foundation, increase accessibility and provide multilingual support for visitors. He said President Russell M. Nelson announced the dates on Feb. 14, timed on the 172nd anniversary of the temple’s original groundbreaking.

The church said it expects large visitor volumes during the six-month open-house period and has asked the public and event planners to reserve free timed tickets via a website that will be available in advance. Bracera estimated that the period could attract “millions” of visitors over six months — comparing the scale to six months of the crowds seen during the church’s semiannual general conference.

The project includes base isolators and a new foundation system designed to separate upper and lower foundation movements during an earthquake. Bracera and materials shown to the council explained that the renovation involves anchoring structural trusses and bonding beams into a new reinforced foundation and installing nearly 100 base isolators, each engineered to carry millions of pounds and allow significant horizontal movement during seismic events.

Bracera also described campus changes: two new pavilions replacing the older visitor centers, expanded landscaping with more than 200 additional trees, street improvements on North and South Temple, and reconfigured access points that reduce the surrounding stone wall to encourage public use of the Square. He said the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (formerly Hotel Utah) and portions of the campus are already reopening incrementally; for example, the Garden Cafe (formerly Nauvoo Cafe) and the Conference Center observation deck are being phased back into service in 2025.

Council members asked about seismic upgrades to other campus buildings and community coordination. Bracera said the conference center and the Tabernacle previously underwent seismic work and that the church has coordinated with municipal stakeholders, consuls and other partners about construction impacts and traffic management.

Ending: Bracera invited the council and mayor to individual or group tours during the construction period and asked county leaders to help promote the open house to convention planners and visitors; the church plans to post continuing updates at templesquare.org.