Center of worship and culture for Hindu, Buddhist communities coming to North Texas
Vacant land will soon become home to a community center as well as Hindu and Buddhist temples.
“We wanted to bring a place of beauty to the city,” said Binay Aryal, chairman of the board for the Nepali Cultural and Spiritual Center.
Aryal said work will start soon on the center at Euless Boulevard and Royal Parkway, which will be completed in phases. The estimated cost is around $6 million, and donations are welcome, he said.
The cultural and spiritual center is currently based in Irving, and that property is on the market.
Aryal said there was a decision to relocate to Euless because the Nepali population is growing throughout the Metroplex, and they are outgrowing the temple in Irving.
There are around 40,000 Nepalese in North Texas, including Fort Worth, Hurst, Euless and Bedford, and approximately 5,000 in Euless, he said.
People are coming to this area because of the hot job market at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and in companies like Federal Express, he said.
The project will be developed in three phases.
The 15,000 square-foot community center will include a medical suite for health camps and minor medical services, tutoring rooms for children needing help learning the Nepali language or with homework, a 300-seat cafeteria serving vegetarian meals, and a business incubation center.
The business center will have offices for real estate agents, tax/CPA firms and travel agents.
The Hindu and Buddhist temples will be in the second phase of the project, along with a prayer and worship hall. The temples will be replicas of the well-known shrines found in the city of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
The third phase will be wedding venues for Hindu and Buddhist marriage ceremonies.
Aryal said the cultural and spiritual center will attract people from all over the United States and from other countries such as India and Bangladesh.
Murali Adhikari, a leader in the Nepali community who is involved with planning the cultural center, said the Nepali community purchased property in Euless in 2008, but the recession hit, and they could not get a loan to build a larger temple as they were outgrowing the Irving location.
“The Nepali people believe in the United States,” he said. “When we come to another country, we want to pass along our culture and teachings to our children.”
Adhikari said anyone is welcome to visit the cultural center.
“Any people from any faith are welcome. This is a project for humanity,” he said.
