South Middlebush Land Targeted For Trimandir Temple Is Up For Sale
The South Middlebush Road property eyed for a temple and gathering hall is up for sale.
The 16-acre parcel at 630 South Middlebush Road, which includes a four-bedroom, four-bathroom home, is listed at $1.2 million.
The land, which abuts Snyder’s Farm, is currently owned by the Dada Bhagwan Vignan Institute, which paid $915,000 for it in 2015. The institute had planned to construct a “trimandir” temple on the property, which places on equal footing the gods revered by those who follow the three major religions in India: Jainism, Shaivism, and Vaishnavism.
In addition to the temple, the group had planned to build an adjacent building that would contain a gathering hall.
Several sources said that the lack of sewers in the area, and the township’s reluctance to approve sewer extensions there, likely killed the project.
A call for comment to the Institute was not returned.
The group held a ceremonial groundbreaking on July 4, 2015, which was attended by adherents from across the country and around the world.
The temple would have been the first one built in the United States by the organization.
At the groundbreaking, Shirish Patel, a California resident on the organization’s governing board, said that by the time the temple was built – which was projected to be four or five years hence – the organization projected that about 300 people would attend events there several times a week. He said the group would also hold morning and evening prayers, as well as “big events.”
According to the trimandir.org Web site, the organization’s founder, known as Dada Bhagwan, envisioned 24 such temples built in the world. There are currently 11 temples, with the bulk of them in India.