A smaller but upgraded center will replace the Lansing Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after it burned down in June.

The center is replacing the 40-year-old, 27,000 square-foot church, 431 E. Saginaw St., was destroyed June 30. Police continue to investigate the fire, which was ruled arson.

The East Lansing City Council unanimously approved a permit to reconstruct the church as a 24,500 square-foot, one-story building with a sloped roof, steeple and 232 parking spaces surrounding it.

The new building includes a suite of stake offices, three ward bishop’s and clerk’s offices, a cultural hall and multipurpose space, a theater area, a new Family History Center, fire sprinkler system and a security system.

Gerald Rodabaugh, fire inspector and investigator for East Lansing, said the sprinkler system is an important addition.

“Had the previous church been fully sprinkled it would have controlled the fire,” Rodabaugh said.

John Coakley, principal of Bernath-Coakley Associates Architects Inc., the company hired for the new church design, said sprinklers are likely to make churchgoers more comfortable.

Aside from this year’s blaze, a suspicious fire destroyed a portion of the church in 1990.

Coakley said the new architecture is more traditional than the old church but includes upgraded equipment such as new heating, ventilation, air conditioning and control panels.

The cultural hall also will have more modern features including hardwood floors, expansion seating for 1,200 people and folding partitions. It will be used for meetings, church sporting events and dances.

Stake public affairs director Cheryl Haddock said her favorite part about the new church is the “sense of community” that will exist in the new building.

“We got so much support when the old one burned down,” she said. “You can replace a building, but people are very special.”

Jacobson Construction of Salt Lake City, Utah will begin construction in October. Construction is expected to take about 10 months.

There isn’t an estimate for the cost of the construction and it will be funded from offerings of Mormons around the world, Haddock said.

She added that this has been a test of endurance and faith, but she didn’t let that stand in her way.

“We moved on and if we’d focused on that then we wouldn’t be this far,” she said. “We’ve got stuff to do.”

The Lansing Michigan Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has 11 congregations and more than 3,300 members in the Mid-Michigan area. The Lansing Stake Center served as a regular Sunday meeting place for two of the congregations and was used by all 11 of the congregations for various activities and meetings.

The 800 members of the congregation are spread out for worship services in Lansing and Holt churches during the church’s absence.