companies owned by scientologists in clearwater22 Apr companies owned by scientologists in clearwater
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST: 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. The only record of redevelopment that has occurred among the 45 properties is a roof replacement on a vacant building on North Fort Harrison Avenue and internal demolition in a former flooring center two blocks north, according to notices in Pinellas County records. In those cases, four or more parcels purchased together clearly comprised a single piece of real estate. Sep 19, 2022 - Anonymous Employee in Clearwater, FL. All 45 North Marina properties were purchased by companies managed or operated by two longtime members of Scientology: Steven Hayes, an attorney who has done legal work on behalf of church related organizations for more than two decades, and Norm Novitsky, a businessperson who has donated at least $5 million to Scientology. And yes, everyone that works here is asked to keep politics and religion out . Times investigative reporters pored over 1,000 deeds and business records, and interviewed more than 90 people, to connect the dots from the church buying its first hotel in the area in 1975, to Scientologists and their businesses now owning 185 properties covering 101 acres in the heart of downtown Clearwater which is also Scientologys headquarters, and home to its flag campus, to which Scientologists across the globe make pilgrimages. EMPIRICAL PROSPECTING COMPANY LIMITED. Among other things, Ozsan is, according to our source, Trish Duggans money manager. There is nothing unnatural about Scientologists wanting to live in the same city that houses the international spiritual headquarters of their church, said a letter signed by Scientology attorney Gary Soter. It also has to be someone who trusts the Epsteins enough to invest with them. Mayor George Cretekos listens at a City Council meeting in April 2017 as residents pushed the council to purchase a vacant lot that Scientology also wanted. However, this tactic can backfire when it comes across as answering a question no one has asked. Disloyalty has life-changing consequences. Florida executes Donald Dillbeck for 1990 Tallahassee murder, Held without charge, a Miami inmates unborn child asks court for release in odd case, One step led Tampa runner, Gasparilla entrant to big weight loss, huge life gains, Hillsborough must right-size its school system | Editorial, companies tied to Scientology bought 100 properties, Winter the dolphin died of twisted intestines, necropsy report confirms. Recommend. Advance! That company has had no connection to Coldwell Banker for decades. Leading up to the waterfront, 22 of the first 33 buildings now have ties to Scientology. But that is where it ends. Flag is supposed to be an insulated oasis. 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. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? If our work stats did not improve day to day . About $15.9 million was paid in cash. 9,523 Scientologists live in the Tampa Bay area. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Just out of curiosity, when you say the tactics that they used in the '70s, what were those? Scientologists deal with useful non-Scientologists quite often. DEUTERIUM INVESTMENT ADVISORS LIMITED The origin story for the CB in CBRE does come from Coldwell Banker, but that was a very long time ago. Ozsan has had a residence in London since 2001. Cons. In the world of scientologywhere anything goes and all laws in the wog world by damnedits Christmas 24/7. All they did was act like children and make crude sex/homophobic/racial jokes about being raped, gangbanged, etc. And the tactics they were using to establish area control included infiltration, spying, smearing enemies. The main reason why developers didnt want it was they didnt want to be near the Church of Scientology, Searcy said. The city, meanwhile, moved ahead on its now-$84 million Imagine Clearwater project, a plan to transform the city-owned downtown waterfront with an outdoor amphitheater, a garden, bluff walk and plaza. Both have been there for decades. Thats not happening with almost any of these properties., [ More reaction: What Clearwaters City Council thinks about Scientologys downtown takeover ]. Investigative journalism like this is the most expensive work that we do. Additional Clearwater real estate purchases began in 2019. They came in under a fake name to buy the Fort Harrison Hotel, a historic hotel right in the center of downtown. NIO stock swings lower after reporting losses that were much wider than expected, 3Ms stock surges after company says DOD data show 90% of earplug plaintiffs had normal hearing, Marc Benioffs Salesforce fairy tale is crumbling down around him. In San Diego, Taylor Guitars and Deering Banjo Company. Since arriving in Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has purchased 60 properties in Pinellas County under its name. $99 million of the purchases were paid for in cash.. We have previously presented a case that the $103 million was provided by Scientologist David Gentile's GPB Capital Holdings. 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.. Accuracy and availability may vary. It teaches that expanding Scientology is key to saving the world, then wields a system of totalitarian policies to keep parishioners in line. My sister is always struggling with money and drugs: I own a house with my husband and mother. They paid $26 million. Since arriving in Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has bought 60 . He is linked to the Church of Scientology via the Epsteins and Trish Duggan. We reported at that time that a handful of limited liability companies bought about six downtown properties, and Scientology leader David Miscavige had presented a retail plan to two city staff officials. According to his resume, he started the firm in 2003. 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. Then walk down Cleveland Street downtowns main artery. Asked directly whether Scientology orchestrated or paid for any of the sales, the church did not answer. Tracey McManus is a Scientology reporter for the paper, and she joins us now. Copyright 2023 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. City officials plan to partner with a developer on ways to adapt the red brick schoolhouse, like turning it into a hub for restaurants, retail, or apartments. It does not include properties recently bought by companies run by church members. The church, its members and companies they control now own 185 properties that cover 101 acres in the center of downtown. Flag is what they call it, and it's the international spiritual headquarters of the church. Help us keep bringing stories like this to you. The church promised to spend $55 million. Philip Kirkpatrick, Clearwaters senior economic development coordinator, said Stephen Epstein spoke with city officials in December about a potential commercial and multifamily project on the site. Copyright 2019 NPR. Lee sold when Fischler upped her offer to $410,000 cash for the building valued at $109,000 by the property appraiser. It was owned by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. We believe it's important to shed light on a powerful institution that's very controversial and plays a big role in our community. Another Scientologist, Rick Argall, owned a building on downtowns Garden Avenue that housed six Scientologist-run businesses, including a chiropractic clinic he operated with a fellow church member. Times reporters built a database of hundreds of properties in the center of Clearwaters downtown. 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. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with reporter Tracey McManus. In response to detailed memos summarizing the reporting, the church criticized the Times for portraying its members as mindless robots and for having a preconceived agenda to present every Scientology story in a false and unfavorable light.. Now, companies connected to the Church of Scientology are buying tracts of land within the 55-acre district and not disclosing what they plan to do with them. . 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. Through a spokesperson, Epstein said in an email that CA South looked into developing the properties on behalf of a client but walked away when the city did not relax a rule prohibiting a parking lot level facing North Fort Harrison Avenue. Paid in cash. But his offer had a catch. All five City Council members said they doubted the rash of purchases were unrelated. Almost immediately, a decades-long trickle of purchases by church members turned into a flood. In a letter, the church said the Times is misinterpreting Scientology policy and that other religions also practice shunning. He walked away with nothing. Half the properties were bought since January 2017. 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? In January and February 2017, a handful of limited liability companies bought six prime downtown parcels. The gallery does not include properties bought by companies run by church members. The city received an informal inquiry last year related to vacant land at the southeast corner of Seminole Street and North Fort Harrison Avenue. Even as Scientologys footprint expanded, and nearby Clearwater Beach became one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States, downtown businesses struggled to stay open. Norm Novitsky hung up when asked by a reporter about the companies plans. A buyer, whose identity Chesney never learned, agreed to his asking price without countering $1 million cash for the adjoining parcels, which was four times the value set by the Pinellas County Property Appraiser. And he was going to build an entertainment complex with Tom Cruise. But on days with no events, downtown feels deserted. They doubled the churchs footprint in less than three years. Business Outlook. Learn how your comment data is processed. Rileys Clearwater Marina District development has a $350 million price tag on it. Scientology has said it has 10 million followers, but surveys and accounts from former members suggest there are no more than 30,000 worldwide. In Mesa, its the Mormon Church that dominates the area and I was able to work in that environment. The purchases totaled $11.8 million and were documented by the Tampa Bay Times in its November 2021 story: companies connected to the Church of Scientology are buying tracts of land within the 55-acre district and not disclosing what they plan to do with them. David Gentile is creative with money and had hundreds of bank accounts and sub-funds when he ran GPB Capital. I dont know what their plan is.. New details about the case of Lisa McPherson, who died in the care of Scientologists, from the executive who directed the Church of Scientologys handling of the case. What Clearwaters City Council thinks, Scientologys 40 years of conflict with Clearwater, recapped, See a slideshow of all the churchs buildings. Block after block, vacant lots sit untouched, and storefronts remain empty: A former jewelry store. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard had written about doing away with governments and replacing them with a Scientology-run society. Concerned he wouldnt be able to pay his mortgage, Argall said he deeded the building, appraised at $780,000, back to the previous owner. MCMANUS: Yeah, that's a good question. Scientology came to downtown Clearwater in 1975. 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. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. But in the 70s, Andrus was named an unindicted co-conspirator in Scientologys government espionage scheme, which sent 11 Scientologists to federal prison. Gentile also purchased several Clearwater companies owned by Scientologists who may have invested the proceeds into land deals. Seven businesses have left following recent purchases, and at least three more are leaving this year, including Clearwater Plumbing and Gulf Coast Marine. About 72 percent of those properties are tax exempt for religious uses. No one from the church dictates to me what to buy, what to sell, what to do.. Thank you for having us. The church has amassed 60 properties in Pinellas County since arriving in 1975. The Scientology leader had offered the Clearwater Marine Aquarium $15 million for that 1.4-acre grass lot on Pierce Street. In mid-2018, one year before the string of North Marina purchases took off, a company controlled by developer Brian Andrus, a longtime member of Scientology, bought the private marina next to the citys Seminole Boat Ramp. 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