Each May, Chattanooga’s Hindu community celebrates the anniversary of its temple opening.
But, in 2022, some 26 years after its first services in a Baptist church, the congregation plans to celebrate with a building designed to serve its growing community.
The community bought the current facility on Canyon Drive in 1994. The space was previously a Baptist church, said Anil Patel, president of Sanatan Mandir of Chattanooga. A two-story wing of the facility where classrooms had been was converted into the temple space.
Around 150 families were part of the community when services began there in 1996. Today, around 225 families take part in services and holidays at the temple, Patel said.
But the property totals nearly 58,000 square feet and was built in the 1970s, according to Hamilton County property records. The cost of upkeep began to weigh on the congregation, Patel said.