and last updated 7:53 PM, Oct 21, 2019. In 2002, she was listed as an international deputy of a committee tasked with disseminating Scientology doctrine. Scientologists annually contribute $87,867,000 to charitable endeavors, money that uplifts the quality of life in Clearwater. At least eight businesses that got new landlords tied to Scientology moved out and have not been replaced. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard had written about doing away with governments and replacing them with a Scientology-run society. But in the 70s, Andrus was named an unindicted co-conspirator in Scientologys government espionage scheme, which sent 11 Scientologists to federal prison. Visitors are expected to stay in Scientologys hotels and eat at private church restaurants. 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. 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. Nearly all of the properties were bought through limited liability companies, which are required to disclose their operators but not their owners. 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. Clearwater is the center of that revenue stream. 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. I dont know what their plan is.. Gulf Coast Marine and ClearwaterPlumbing. A few weeks later, John Yarbrough sold the building where he had run his electrical services business for 22 years. The property wasnt on the market. But the aquarium rejected his bid in order to sell it to the city for $4.25 million. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. One of the factors they do control is the waterfront land that's protected by city charter, that they are in the middle of a $64 million plan right now to redesign and develop into a park with gardens and a concert venue. "I do not want to be associated . A deserted coin laundry. Hibbard previously served as Mayor from 2005 until 2012, leaving office because of term limits. Rabid Cult: Scientology Bites Dog Food Company; Attacks Cream Cheese; and Screams at Rolling Stone Magazine, Podcast with Aaron Smith-Levin: Grant Cardone Lawsuit Update & David Gentile Criminal Case. Defectors have said they were paid less than $50 a week. All they did was act like children and make crude sex/homophobic/racial jokes about being raped, gangbanged, etc. He promoted the site to about 75 hoteliers and developers across the country. So we kept our eye on the downtown purchases. Flag is what they call it, and it's the international spiritual headquarters of the church. Pros. Please consider supporting us with a tax-deductible donation to the Tampa Bay Times Investigative Fund. No one from the church dictates to me what to buy, what to sell, what to do.. MCMANUS: Yeah, that's a good question. 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. Some landlords tied to Scientology have helped bring life to portions of downtown. 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. Scientologys extraordinary influence over its members has been documented in government investigations and testimony from former parishioners throughout its 65-year history. Spa not owned by a Scientologist. (Everything owned by parishioner-run companies is still on the tax rolls. Help us keep bringing stories like this to you. We also hold the distinction of being the first Scientology Church in the Southern Hemisphere. Wayne E. Lee ran his Auto Parts Distributors business on Park Street since 1982. Most religions have a fundamentalist wing, Rinder said. It set aside $10 million for secret real estate purchases in Clearwater. Terri Novitsky and Hayes did not return calls and emails requesting comment. Searcy felt like hed created a canvas for a dream hotel, condo and retail project: near the bridge to Clearwater Beach, no height restrictions, all under $5 million. Originally founded in 1955, we are the oldest Scientology Church in Australia. (On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times reported that since 2017, companies run by members of Scientology bought another 86 downtown commercial properties. Real estate offices, vitamin shops and vacant storefronts fill prime locations that in a more vibrant downtown might hold breweries, restaurants and boutiques. The most recent deal came when a New York firm bought a former demolition yard on Nicholson Street for $593,400 on Oct. 20 and then flipped it two days later for $1 million in cash to one of the Scientology-tied limited liability companies, according to property records. In private meetings with council members, the Scientology leader described a plan for high-end shops, Cleveland Street facade renovations and an entertainment complex involving actor Tom Cruise, Scientologys most famous parishioner. The 2017-2019 Downtown Clearwater land purchases made by Scientologists totaled $103 million. The city and the church fought in court for years. About 72 percent of those properties are tax exempt for religious uses. I would ask that you clarify the reference to CBRE. Aaron Smith-Levin, a former Sea Org member, said a church ethics officer in 1993 pressured Smith-Levins father-in-law to sell Scientology a downtown property it wanted for expansion. 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. Over the next four decades, the church gradually amassed 58 properties in Clearwater under its name, 49 of them downtown. In those cases, four or more parcels purchased together clearly comprised a single piece of real estate. But companies controlled by different parishioners bought neighboring properties that create clear assemblages of land. 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.. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Explain to me why the paper has a Scientology reporter. And $99 million of the $103 million in real-estate deals over the past three years were in cash. Brian Andrus controls companies that last year bought a marina on N Osceola Avenue and six nearby properties, all bordering a redevelopment project at the citys public boat ramp. They posted guards wielding billy clubs and mace. Many of the properties werent on the market. It appears that Project Normandy is still operational. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Since arriving in Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has purchased 60 properties in Pinellas County under its name. MCMANUS: It kind of started in early 2017. CONNIE HUMBURG, TRACEY McMANUS, ELI MURRAY, ELI ZHANG | Times. It has to be somebody with the money to invest in a real estate development deal. 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. Gensler does all the architectural work for Scientologys Ideal Orgs. The 1.4 acre lot was across the street from City Hall and adjacent to a 13-story Scientology religious retreat. Companies tied to the Church of Scientology paid millions in cash for 45 properties near downtown with no major plans in sight. Take away the church footprint, a few condo towers and all buildings owned by the government. It also has to be someone who trusts the Epsteins enough to invest with them. Norm Novitsky hung up when asked by a reporter about the companies plans. Hes starting to assemble properties, Allbritton said. It said information in parishioner folders is sacrosanct and claims of blackmail have long since been disproven.. The owner of a nationwide company that makes and markets aloe vera skin cream. They also pointed to the latest edition of their Freedom magazine for what they called an accurate portrayal of the church and its members in Clearwater. Clearwater is the permanent home to more than 10,000 Scientology parishioners. Half the properties were bought since January 2017. In a letter to the Times, the church denied it ever tried to take control of the city. 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. A Scientology Based Company in Clearwater tried to Hire me and lie to me (VIDEO) So I just moved down to the clearwater area and I'm new to knowing that this is the "mecca" for scientology programs. For the first time, a majority of the boards members will be Scientologists. On Sept. 7, Epsteins employee was removed from the corporate filings of the company that own the land. 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. 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. These are the companies and names on this list (put into alphabetical order, I also added what are probably the largest scientology owned businesses in the area KnowB4, NTC, Consumer Sales Solutions and Energy Professionals: Axiom Bahia Property Management (Raul Aleman) Blue Streak Docs (Sam Gendusa) Buzzazz Business Solutions (Keanan Kintzel) In San Diego, Taylor Guitars and Deering Banjo Company. Our opinion is that Riley was instructed to get ahead of the story by bringing up Scientology before he was asked about it. The Church was unaware of the land purchases? The Church was unaware of the significant number of properties owned by Scientologists in the Clearwater area and are delighted you provided the information.. 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. Your characterization that his religious affiliations somehow control his business activities is evidence of personal bias against his religion, Zaretsky wrote. When the council voted to buy the property, the chamber erupted in applause. Thats not happening with almost any of these properties., [ More reaction: What Clearwaters City Council thinks about Scientologys downtown takeover ]. Right now, at least 30 businesses owned by non-parishioners are renting from Scientologists. Cazares responds with an $8 million libel suit. 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. How Riley made the jump from a regional Coldwell Banker slot in Arizona to suddenly handling a proposed $350 million Clearwater Marina District development is certainly interesting and raises questions we are looking into. MCMANUS: Brokers representing these companies were approaching downtown property owners. In summer 2018, Fischler walked into Bob Lees Auto Repair on Park Street to make owner Dennis Bosi an offer. His partner is Scientologist Maria Dolores Gregori Fuster. We previously reported on CA South Development. In her November 2021 article on Scientologists buying land in Clearwater, Tracey McManus wrote (emphasis ours): The city received an informal inquiry last year related to vacant land at the southeast corner of Seminole Street and North Fort Harrison Avenue. The Times report describes spaces such as a former jewelry store, an empty Walgreens and a deserted laundromat sitting empty and unused. Clarification made on CBRE and thank you for pointing that out. Florida migrant flights lawsuit dismissed in wake of Legislature passing law, Editorial Cartoons for Thursday from Times Wire Services, Bucs new coordinator is confident! 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. The lack of action from Scientology-tied buyers has precedent. However, it hasnt always been clear to me as to just what does that actually mean.. Assistant City Manager Michael Delk said the citys priority is turning the spectacular land it owns into a community destination, no matter who owns the private property around it. Almost immediately, a decades-long trickle of purchases by church members turned into a flood. Since July 2019, eight limited liability companies managed or operatedby members of the church have bought 45 properties in North Marina, including Chesneys. Tampa Bay Times reporter Tracey McManus has spent the last four years writing about Scientology and the churchs relationship with the city of Clearwater. I dont mix my personal business with other areas in my life, said Terri Novitsky, a Scientologist who manages a company that bought two office buildings on Chestnut Street in 2017. In an interview with Scientology-owned "Freedom Magazine" Gendusa said that she moved to Clearwater to study Scientology more than 25 years ago. Howd that go? She reported full-time for six months, interviewing more than 90 people and reviewing more than 1,000 documents, to bring you this story. Mayor Jane Castors partner vowed not to lobby the city. The memos were later seized by the FBI. 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