An empty parcel of grass adjacent to the Utah Capitol will eventually hold a massive monument sculpted by the artist behind the World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Members of the Capitol Preservation Board, which includes Utah’s top elected officials — like Gov. Spencer Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz — unanimously approved the proposal Wednesday.

The approximately $50 million project by Sabin Howard is dubbed “Grand Liberty Arch,” and is supposed to be funded by private donors. Howard said he has already raised nearly $2 million of that total.

“I feel very confident about it,” Howard told the board when discussing funding, adding, “And I come with a reputation, so I can do this.”

Still, Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, asked that a motion to approve the project include the clarification that the board is not endorsing any future state funding going toward the project.

Howard described the sculpture as one that “links the house of the people with the story of ‘We the People.’”

As he presented a 3D-printed model of the arch, he pointed out figures who represent the American Revolution, emancipation and westward expansion.

The highest point of the sculpture will be 36.5 feet. Howard said he plans to unveil a 6-foot-tall model of the project this summer. Designing the arch, he said, took 1 1/2 years.

The Capitol Preservation Board is only able to add one large commemorative element, like the arch, every 100 years.

While it’s unclear how many proposals the board received, it opted to move forward with the arch over a monument commemorating the ceremonial golden spike used to complete the transcontinental railroad, and another dedicated to “Utah’s monumental women.”