Construction begins on $60M religious exhibit at Independence Mall

A multi-million-dollar religious center is going up at Independence Mall, bringing an interactive exhibition and 250,000 visitors a year, according to officials.

Work is underway on the space, dubbed the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center, at 5th and Market Streets, officials from the American Bible Society—who are overseeing the project—announced last week.

The $60 million center will be built in the current Wells Fargo building on the ground floor and concourse levels. It’s going to top off at 40,000 square feet and will include an “innovation and education center,” five galleries, a 3D theater, and a 9,000-square-foot glass lobby that extends toward Independence Mall. There will also be a two-story sculpture with various surfaces that represent the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bible, which the society called the “three documents essential to the founding of the United States” in a statement.

The galleries are being created by the firm Local Projects, who spearheaded the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York.

“We want the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center to be a place that unites people, shows how faith has always played a role in our nation, and helps visitors consider what difference faith can make in our lives today,” American Bible Society President and CEO Roy Peterson said in a statement.

An opening date for the center is slated for 2020, and officials believe it will draw 250,000 people to the site, as well as drive $110 million in economic impact.

• $60M Faith & Liberty Discovery Center coming to Independence Mall in 2018 [Curbed Philly]