Please consider supporting us with a tax-deductible donation to the Tampa Bay Times Investigative Fund. There are 22 Church of Scientology facilities in downtown Clearwater. The Scientology leader had offered the Clearwater Marine Aquarium $15 million for that 1.4-acre grass lot on Pierce Street. Its too soon to say how the shift in ownership will affect downtown. I dont know what their plan is.. Fair Game: Leah Remini & Mike Rinders Podcast, The Aftermath Foundation: Help for Those Who Want to Leave the Sea Org, Scientologys Membership Contract Goes Down in Flames in Court, Chris Shelton's Sensibly Speaking Podcast, Dr. Steven Hassan's Freedom of Mind Resource Center, Stefani Hutchison's Confront & Shatter Blog, The Aftermath Foundation: Helping Those Who Have Left the Sea Org, More Scientologists Getting Into Crypto: Alfreddie Johnson and Karilyn Youngman-Trammell and Their Solar Gold Cryptocurrency, More Grant Cardone Fraud: His Plan for Businesses to Use Credit Cards to Pay for Cardone Sales Training and then Declare Bankruptcy, Church of Scientology International(158), Scientology Fair Game: Cult Leader David Miscavige Orders Attacks on Marc Headley and His Business, US Federal Prosecutor Now Investigating Retired LAPD Cop & Scientology Pal Captain Cory Palka for Corruption, Subpoena-Evader and Thug Life Scientology Leader David Miscavige Served a Subpoena by a US Federal Court on Valentines Day 2023, Scientologist David Gentile Goes Down in Flames in the Pretrial Phase of His US Federal Criminal Case. Among them: make Clearwater known as the first Scientology city in the world.. Melitta coffee filters are manufactured in Clearwater, Florida. Nearly all of the roughly two dozen people listed as operating the companies are Scientologists. CEO Approval. The Fort Harrison Hotel serves as the flagship building of the Flag Land Base, the Church of Scientology's spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, US.It is owned and operated by the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, Inc., a subsidiary of the Church of Scientology International.. Do you own your house? City Council member Mark Bunker said although the church is not the official buyer of the downtown and North Marina properties, there is reason to believe Scientology leader David Miscavige is orchestrating the parishioner-operated companies making the acquisitions. Accuracy and availability may vary. The city and the church fought in court for years. The few willing to answer questions said Scientology has no influence on their real estate dealings. The Church of Scientology acquired the building in 2017 as part of its downtown redevelopment plan. katherine noelle wyman; cape breton post obituaries 2022. location symbol text in word; list of female jockeys australia; mike conley house columbus ohio address 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. Thats not happening with almost any of these properties., [ More reaction: What Clearwaters City Council thinks about Scientologys downtown takeover ]. To reiterate our earlier point, Ozsan, Gregori And Company LLC has only two client accounts. Since arriving in Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has purchased 60 properties in Pinellas County under its name. Fischler, a local real estate agent, negotiated at least 10 of the downtown deals, according to interviews with sellers. All rights reserved. Thank you very much. A uniformed member of Scientologys full-time work force, the Sea Org, walks along N Fort Harrison Avenue, passing a vacant restaurant. A deserted coin laundry. One of these accounts shows discretionary assets of $134.77 million. But after a dispute with the city, Miscavige cut communication. Scientology came to downtown Clearwater in 1975. #4 Best Company In Clearwater Company Description: Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Clearwater, Fla., Senior Home Care is a privately held company operating nearly 50 branch locations with 1,800 employees through its Senior Home Care offices in Florida and Synergy Home Care offices in Louisiana. Since arriving in Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has purchased 60 properties in Pinellas County under its name. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Who are they buying from, and how much were they offering? Osman Ozsan has been a Scientologist since the 1990s. City officials have long hoped for private investors to transform the North Marina Area, a 13-block district with undeveloped lots and 100-year-old bungalows overlooking Clearwater Harbor. CLEARWATER Ed Chesney had two rental homes and two vacant lots in the North Marina Area on the market for a year before his real estate agent called in late 2019 with good news. The campus collects millions each week through fundraising and payments for expensive courses and high-level religious counseling not offered anywhere else. It has terrorized defectors with private investigators, smear campaigns and relentless litigation. It appears that Project Normandy is still operational. We built a graphic demonstrating just how little is left. The new owners also are sitting on about 30 undeveloped lots. (Everything owned by parishioner-run companies is still on the tax rolls. I mean, do they view it as helpful for the community at large to have a major religious organization centered in their town or not? Hes encouraged by city investments in the boat ramp and North Ward Elementary, and holds out hope that the undeveloped lots and dilapidated homes will be replaced with something vibrant. Fischler approached Bosi again in September. Its members bought property on surrounding blocks. The pattern of Scientology-tied companies buying so many properties and sitting on them "flies in the face of most land economics," said Tobias, who has been appraising property in Pinellas County for 50 years. In Florida, limited liability companies that buy property are required to disclose administrative operators but not their owners. These workers sign billion year contracts, are paid very little, work around the clock. ARKWRIGHT ROAD LIMITED More interesting is that the 15 parcels of land Riley plans acquire in Clearwater are owned by Scientologists. Why does this matter? Both the Church of Scientology and GPB Capital denied it. The Times used the date that transactions were recorded in Clerk of Courts official record as the date of sale. A few weeks later, John Yarbrough sold the building where he had run his electrical services business for 22 years. CBRE is an acronym for CB Richard Ellis. He wanted the council to stop trying to buy a vacant lot on which the church was also bidding. Holding and president of Graymoss, Inc. [27] The architectural firm HOK was hired to deliver the project. He owns Stonebridge Real Estate and served as president of the Florida Gulfcoast Commercial Association of Realtors in 2017. In late 2020, Terri Novitsky also was elected to the Downtown Development Board, an advisory group tasked with promoting downtown. We will continue research on our new Trish Duggan theory. They adopted a master plan in 2016 that envisioned housing, a hotel and shopping to complement what they hope will be Clearwaters revitalized downtown less than a mile to the south. Mike Rinder, who led the churchs intelligence arm before defecting in 2007, said that when it comes to property around Flag, theres no real distinction between whether its owned by the church or a parishioner. Former parishioners say the church has a history of interfering in Scientologists downtown business. Asked directly whether Scientology orchestrated or paid for any of the sales, the church did not answer. The companies paid a combined $11.8 million in cash for 28 undeveloped parcels, five empty commercial buildings and a dozen homes in the district, most of them dilapidated. His job appears to be one of a PR guy who can appeal to Clearwater City Government. They posted guards wielding billy clubs and mace. Riley had no reason to mention that he had worked with Mormons and will now work to communicate with the Scientologists in Clearwater. This reads like deliberately premanufactured PR to us. If the council in 2020 isnt on board with doing something his way, hes going to do it himself.. In the world of scientologywhere anything goes and all laws in the wog world by damnedits Christmas 24/7. And Scientology has an interest in keeping that insulated according to former executives that we've interviewed. 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. If so, it's technically possible with a home IPO. Hayes, the attorney and parishioner involved in the rest of the North Marina purchases, was added as manager on the companies filings. Rodney Riley is an interesting character in this whole thing. Over half are owned or operated by Scientologists. Fuster and Ozsan go back a long way to Altea Real Property Ltd. in London. He is not listed on the corporate filings for any of the eight limited liability companies that recently bought the North Marina properties. Scientology has been accused of using the information as blackmail. Theres no such thing in Scientology. 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. Even city leaders said they didnt know the full extent of the purchases until they were shown maps created by the Times. EMPIRICAL PROSPECTING COMPANY LIMITED. MCMANUS: Well, our reporting shows that Scientology has a big interest in preserving its downtown campus. David Gentile is creative with money and had hundreds of bank accounts and sub-funds when he ran GPB Capital. The gallery does not include properties bought by companies run by church members. Getty. Taking into account these denials, we now have a new opinion to offer our readers. The Times also contacted representatives of all 32 companies it identified that bought downtown real estate over the past three years. Scientologists Brett Miller and Joanie and Steve Sigal recommended Frank Hibbard for Mayor. Gentile also purchased several Clearwater companies owned by Scientologists who may have invested the proceeds into land deals. Hibbard previously served as Mayor from 2005 until 2012, leaving office because of term limits. In those cases, four or more parcels purchased together clearly comprised a single piece of real estate. 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. This makes no sense, except of course to a bigot.. Since 2017, the Church of Scientology and companies run by its members have bought 92 properties around the center of downtown. Scientologists living in Clearwater span the gamut of professional life . That has led defectors from the church and city leaders to believe there is little chance parishioners are making significant real estate deals around Scientologys mecca without the churchs involvement. However, it hasnt always been clear to me as to just what does that actually mean.. 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. Thats not happening with almost any of these properties., But Tal Ezra, a Scientologist who recently bought four parcels of land in downtown Clearwater, told the Times that he has plans for an office space and a retail shop. [1] When the council voted to buy the property, the chamber erupted in applause. After the City Council voted to buy the lot in April 2017, Miscavige refused to talk to city officials for the next two and a half years. His partner is Scientologist Maria Dolores Gregori Fuster. Richard Tobias, an independent real estate appraiser in Pinellas County, said vast purchases of downtown real estate by entities tied to Scientology have cast confusion over the market. 2. In Clearwater, Fla., there's been a quiet series of land purchases over the last three years, $103 million worth made by the Church of Scientology and its parishioners - a doubling of the church's footprint near its international headquarters. What's more, the Times found a Scientology magazine from the 1990s that listed goals for the new millennium. The Church is the largest property taxpayer in downtown Clearwater, paying nearly $1 million in property taxes last year. Operatives framed the mayor in a staged hit-and-run and spread false rumors he was having an extramarital affair. The Times described sales as cash transactions when they were paid without a mortgage filed in public records. But they werent ready to sell the building, which they had owned for 27 years. David Gentile is creative with money and had hundreds of bank accounts and sub-funds when he ran GPB Capital. Those six lots were bought in November 2020 by a limited liability company then-managed by an employee of CA South, a Nashville-based real estate firm founded by Megan Epstein and advised by her husband, Stephen Epstein, both members of Scientology. Longtime City Manager Bill Horne said he cant tell whether the church wants the same thing. DEUTERIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED I mean, how big is the Church of Scientology where you are? But on days with no events, downtown feels deserted. 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