The Church of Scientology and its members are rapidly buying up a vast downtown neighborhood in a Florida city, according to a major investigation by the Tampa Bay Times. Originally founded in 1955, we are the oldest Scientology Church in Australia. Buy up as much property as they can for the church whether they use it or not, whether they let it sit there and rot so no one else can be there.. The lack of action from Scientology-tied buyers has precedent. The Times report describes spaces such as a former jewelry store, an empty Walgreens and a deserted laundromat sitting empty and unused. So we kept our eye on the downtown purchases. Typically, when people buy commercial real estate, they move forward with construction or redevelopment. In the article cited, Riley makes an interesting comment (emphasis ours): The opportunity Riley is pursuing to activate the 21 acres is similar to his project in Mesa, Arizona, where he acquired and developed nine properties. Fifty-eight are in the city of Clearwater and 49 are downtown.. The Tampa Bay Times discovered them by reviewing more than 1,000 deeds and business records, then interviewed more than 90 people to reconstruct the circumstances surrounding the transactions. And he was going to recruit high-end retail to some of the empty storefronts because downtown Clearwater's pretty depressed. And the tactics they were using to establish area control included infiltration, spying, smearing enemies. Where did all that money come from? pauline hanson dancing with the stars; just jerk dance members; what happens if a teacher gets a dui But they werent ready to sell the building, which they had owned for 27 years. Gensler does all the architectural work for Scientologys Ideal Orgs. Subscribe to our free Stephinitely newsletter. Times reporters built a database of hundreds of properties in the center of Clearwaters downtown. In response, the Tampa Bay Times received a letter signed by Scientology attorney Gary Soter that read: There is nothing unnatural about Scientologists wanting to live in the same city that houses the international spiritual headquarters of their church. You are a fundamentalist Scientologist, or youre not one at all.. A deserted coin laundry. Weve spent a lot of happy years here, Lares said. The main reason why developers didnt want it was they didnt want to be near the Church of Scientology, Searcy said. GARCIA-NAVARRO: So clearly they wanted these properties a great deal. Companies controlled by Hayes have bought about half the property on Rices block and nearly the entire block directly south. It was a very turbulent time. By then, the churchs intelligence unit was already deploying an elaborate scheme to establish area control in the city. Any property owned by a Scientologist or linked to a Scientologist is owned by the church, because the church owns its parishioners, said De Vocht, the former executive in charge of real estate, who reported directly to Miscavige. A for-lease sign sits in long-vacant retail space at The SkyView condo tower, owned by Scientologist and developer Moises Agami. No one from the church dictates to me what to buy, what to sell, what to do.. The origin story for the CB in CBRE does come from Coldwell Banker, but that was a very long time ago. Bosi wasnt interested. This makes no sense, except of course to a bigot.. However, it hasnt always been clear to me as to just what does that actually mean.. Here is a map showing the parcels in purple which Riley is acquiring: We have previously offered our opinion that the $102 million in Downtown Clearwater land purchases made by Scientologists came from GPB Capital Holdings. The church attracts members through a theology of self improvement and understanding. In San Diego, Taylor Guitars and Deering Banjo Company. He promoted the site to about 75 hoteliers and developers across the country. Since 2017, the Church of Scientology and companies run by its members have bought 92 properties around the center of downtown. About $15.9 million was paid in cash. [1] Each had proposed major redevelopment projects, designed to lure new business into the empty storefronts that surround the city-owned waterfront and the churchs spiritual headquarters. Scientologys extraordinary influence over its members has been documented in government investigations and testimony from former parishioners throughout its 65-year history. Eventually, open tensions faded. Osman Ozsan is of interest to us because he is connected to Rod Riley, a non-Scientologist realtor and real estate developer from Arizona. They envisioned apartment buildings with ground-floor stores, winding paths with views of the Intracoastal Waterway and a concert venue that would draw visitors from across the region. When asked by the Tampa Bay Times about the 2017-2018 land purchases totaling $103 million made by Scientologists, Church attorney Gary Soter wrote a letter in which he stated: The Church was unaware of the significant number of properties owned by Scientologists in the Clearwater area and are delighted you provided the information, the letter continued. 20, 2019. The Church of Scientology, its members and companies controlled by its members have spent $103 million over the past three years buying retail property in downtown Clearwater, Fla., according to the Tampa Bay Times. All together, 32 companies bought 92 downtown properties since 2017. At least eight businesses that got new landlords tied to Scientology moved out and have not been replaced. Pros. Rodney Riley is an interesting character in this whole thing. I think it's comparable to say it's kind of, like, if there were to be a Vatican reporter in Vatican City. NIO's stock slumped toward a 2 1/2-year low, after the China-based EV maker reported a much wider-than-expected loss and revenue that fell short of forecasts. Some of the parishioners have a history of working on Scientologys behalf. Scientologist normally dont deal with outsiders in my experience. ( magazine) Applied Philosophy ARC Straightwire (ARC stands for affinity-reality-communication) ARC Fil Direct Audited NOTs (NOT stands for NED [New Era Dianetics] Operating Thetan) The Auditor But on the notice filed with Pinellas County for the roof replacement at 801 N Fort Harrison Ave., Andrus signed his name as a manager of the company that owns the building. Tampa Bay Times reporter Tracey McManus has spent the last four years writing about Scientology and the churchs relationship with the city of Clearwater. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. businesses owned by scientologists. Scientology members fuel another land-buying surge in Clearwater Companies tied to the Church of Scientology paid millions in cash for 45 properties near downtown with no major plans in. His partner is Scientologist Maria Dolores Gregori Fuster. Andrus did not respond to a phone message or email inquiring if he was involved in the 45 purchases in the blocks surrounding his condo project. The greatest number of properties were bought by companies controlled by either Israeli businessman Itzhak Zano or another Scientologist who represents him. The churchs hostility toward the public became clear from its first days in the city in fall 1975. GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's Tracey McManus, who reports on Scientology for the Tampa Bay Times, talking about the church's increased real estate footprint in Clearwater, Fla. The Church of Scientology acquired the building in 2017 as part of its downtown redevelopment plan. The 2017-2019 Downtown Clearwater land purchases made by Scientologists totaled $103 million. A broker is trying to buy the building Peter and Emily Lares have owned for decades. The Scientology leader had offered the Clearwater Marine Aquarium $15 million for that 1.4-acre grass lot on Pierce Street. Aaron Smith-Levin, who left the world of Scientology after 29 years, is running to serve on the council in Clearwaterwhich has been home to the church's international spiritual headquarters. It has terrorized defectors with private investigators, smear campaigns and relentless litigation. ARKWRIGHT ROAD LIMITED I dont know what their plan is.. In 2017 the church acquired six downtown Clearwater retail properties through limited liability companies. During spiritual counseling, parishioners are interrogated about their deepest secrets, which are recorded in folders and stored indefinitely. That company has had no connection to Coldwell Banker for decades. Copyright 2023 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. These workers sign billion year contracts, are paid very little, work around the clock. Clarification made on CBRE and thank you for pointing that out. By then, he had found an auto garage he could buy in Dunedin. Lee sold when Fischler upped her offer to $410,000 cash for the building valued at $109,000 by the property appraiser. In a letter, the church said the Times is misinterpreting Scientology policy and that other religions also practice shunning. Good luck on that. Theres no such thing in Scientology. The gallery does not include properties bought by companies run by church members. Agami, the developer whose family gave $10 million, leased a storefront to a non-Scientologist that has become a successful restaurant since opening in 2017. Project Normandy was described in one of hundreds of internal memos Scientology officials exchanged about their plans to infiltrate and control Clearwater. Purchases in the North Marina Area took off in July 2019, three months after the City Council voted to buy the historic North Ward Elementary School across the street from the Seminole ramp and Andrus condo. In addition to a park and amphitheater, Imagine Clearwater also calls for several new projects on the waterfront with residences and retail. But the couple isnt ready to let go. This is the Church of Hyper-Surveillance that knows everything about the private and business lives of its members; their social media activities; and even what they did in their past lives. I mean, how big is the Church of Scientology where you are? When the city was considering buying the aquariums lot, Miscavige threatened to stop communicating until the 2020 election, when term limits would force most of the council out of office. Most did not respond or declined to comment. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? CEO Approval. Real estate agent Brian Andrus controls seven properties bought around the citys public boat ramp. February 27, 2023 endeavor air pilot contract No Comments . The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Howd that go? One of these accounts shows discretionary assets of $134.77 million. Steven Epstein took the unusual step of preparing an affidavit to tell the Tampa Bay Times that his client was not the Church of Scientology. Graphics by ELI MURRAY . This is a story for another time. Many of their properties weren't listed for sale. They called it, quote, "little more than self-serving propaganda intended to give the appearance of objective reporting." But David Kerr, a local real estate agent and parishioner, walked in one day with an offer. Scientologists living in Clearwater span the gamut of professional life . Can you give me a sense of the scale and how they have made this happen with the relatively little fanfare over the years? (Guess he hasnt seen the game tapes), US Supreme Court refuses to block Florida execution of Donald Dillbeck, Red-hot USF women close out home schedule with explosive offensive showing, Editorial Cartoons for Thursday from Times Wire Services, Church of Scientologys presence in Pinellas County, Clear Takeover: How Scientology doubled its downtown Clearwater footprint in 3 years, Scientologys 40 years of conflict with Clearwater, recapped, What Clearwaters City Council thinks about Scientologys downtown takeover, Typhoon cancels Clearwaters sister city visit to Nagano. Part of the reason for that is because they have this Sea Org that works full time and is paid less than $50 a week. Inc. magazine's 2019 report on the 5,000 fastest-growing privately owned businesses in America cites 16 firms based in Clearwater. Andrus, the former church operative, has broken ground on a condo tower near the citys boat ramp and filed plans for another housing complex nearby. In summer 2017, Mark Searcy, a longtime Clearwater real estate agent who is not a Scientologist, assembled a 1-acre site by getting the owners of three adjoining properties to agree to sell. According to a new report by The Tampa Bay Times, the Church of Scientology and related entities now own over $260 million of property in downtown Clearwater. and last updated 7:53 PM, Oct 21, 2019. Of the 100 properties bought by parishioner-managed companies near the downtown waterfront from 2017 to 2019, 24 storefronts and buildings remain empty, including a former Walgreens, an old jewelry store and prominent buildings along the North Fort Harrison corridor. GARCIA-NAVARRO: And we reached out to the Church of Scientology about the Tampa Bay Times report. In the world of poker this is called a tell. DEUTERIUM INVESTMENT ADVISORS LIMITED Thirteen were existing tenants when he bought the properties. Rod Riley has no background in Scientology. More reaction: What Clearwaters City Council thinks about Scientologys downtown takeover, The full history: Scientologys 40 years of conflict with the City of Clearwater, recapped, Slideshow: See every building owned by the church, Scientologys 40 years of conflict with Clearwater, recapped, See a slideshow of all the churchs buildings. But the aquarium rejected his bid in order to sell it to the city for $4.25 million. After leaving Caliber Wells, Rodney Riley began working with Megan and Stephen Epstein. While theres no law against hanging onto property, developers typically buy land, build on it and sell it for profit. Clearwater A newspaper report says the Church of Scientology and companies run by its members spent more than $100 million over the past three years buying up huge sections of downtown. 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