Clearwater is the permanent home to more than 10,000 Scientology parishioners. and last updated 7:53 PM, Oct 21, 2019. Local TV station WTSP reports. Although Zano is not well known in Clearwater, the companies spent $16.7 million acquiring 26 commercial properties downtown. But his offer had a catch. In a letter to the Times, the church denied it ever tried to take control of the city. The land grab started as tensions grew between the church and the Clearwater City Council. DEUTERIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Tracey McManus is a Scientology reporter for the paper, and she joins us now. 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. He wanted the council to stop trying to buy a vacant lot on which the church was also bidding. He shows up in Clearwater from Arizona a few months ago. Visitors are expected to stay in Scientologys hotels and eat at private church restaurants. For example, David Miscaviges personal lawyer of 35 years Monique Yingling has never been a Scientologist. Please consider supporting us with a tax-deductible donation to the Tampa Bay Times Investigative Fund. Coincident with this Riley-registered RSR Capital Advisors as an LLC in Florida on March 21, 2022. In interviews, sellers said most of the transactions unfolded the same way. 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. After negotiations, Kerrs company paid Yarbrough $1.1 million in cash for the lots, then valued by Pinellas County at $331,000. Good luck on that. Thirteen were existing tenants when he bought the properties. Real estate offices, vitamin shops and vacant storefronts fill prime locations that in a more vibrant downtown might hold breweries, restaurants and boutiques. He walked away with nothing. But its potential is still untapped, with prime vacant land overlooking Clearwater Harbor. I think it's comparable to say it's kind of, like, if there were to be a Vatican reporter in Vatican City. Scientologists deal with useful non-Scientologists quite often. Because the city rebuffed Miscaviges offer, Bunker, who has advocated against alleged abuses in Scientology for 20 years, said he sees the parishioner-involved real estate purchases that followed as a vindictive and desperate play to interfere with Clearwaters revitalization efforts. Im concerned, Mayor Frank Hibbard said. Although that arrangement is standard in real estate, it makes it impossible to know whether the properties are owned by the Scientologists who manage the companies, the wealthy church or another hidden party. CLEARWATER An old jewelry store on the corner of Cleveland Street that welcomes visitors to the core of downtown sits empty, unchanged since a company managed by a Church of Scientology. Fifty-eight are in the city of Clearwater and 49 are downtown.. 20, 2019. Even city leaders said they didnt know the full extent of the purchases until they were shown maps created by the Times. 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. A for-lease sign sits in long-vacant retail space at The SkyView condo tower, owned by Scientologist and developer Moises Agami. Mike Rinder, who led Scientologys intelligence arm before defecting in 2007, said any property owned by a parishioner is in the churchs control. Thank you very much. Its designed not for recruiting new members but for hosting established followers. Thank you for having us. 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 means the total revenue of the "300" scientology businesses that are owned by the 9700 local scientologists is equivalent to 7.5 average car dealers. Scientology has been accused of using the information as blackmail. We also hold the distinction of being the first Scientology Church in the Southern Hemisphere. Learn how your comment data is processed. Melitta coffee filters are manufactured in Clearwater, Florida. He publicly asked why there were security cards with billy clubs and mace on the roof. This is a big giveaway in our view. Construction on eight townhomes on the south end of the marina began Oct. 1, according to county records. Companies tied to the Church of Scientology paid millions in cash for 45 properties near downtown with no major plans in sight. Riley is also working with Gensler on the development. 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. I think it throws a stake in it when one party owns 50 percent or so. Osman Ozsan is, in our opinion, one of the more notable Scientologists youve never heard of. 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. 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. Moreover, tens of thousands of Scientologists travel to the city each year from around the world to participate in religious services at the Church's spiritual home. MCMANUS: You know, Lulu, from my reporting, I've learned that there's a lot of mistrust and suspicion still in the community when it comes to Scientology because a lot of the residents here were living in the city when Scientology arrived in the '70s, and they remember the tactics Scientology used. Most of the new owners have done little with their acquisitions. He was overseeing the religion from aboard a ship to avoid investigations into tax evasion and fraud when he selected Clearwater as a spiritual headquarters. 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. 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. 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. The Church of Scientology and companies run by its members spent $103 million over the past three years buying up vast sections of downtown Clearwater. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Explain to me why the paper has a Scientology reporter. And the Times found that in six cases buyers paid quadruple a propertys value. But companies controlled by different parishioners bought neighboring properties that create clear assemblages of land. The Times report describes spaces such as a former jewelry store, an empty Walgreens and a deserted laundromat sitting empty and unused. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard had written about doing away with governments and replacing them with a Scientology-run society. They spent $6.5 million to renovate the public Seminole Boat Ramp, a popular centerpiece seen as a sign of the citys commitment. In the 70s, Andrus was named an unindicted co-conspirator in a Scientology plan to infiltrate the government. The city has no record yet of redevelopment plans being submitted for any of the North Marina properties since the purchases began, according to planning and development director Gina Clayton. Copyright 2023 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. A uniformed member of Scientologys full-time work force, the Sea Org, walks along N Fort Harrison Avenue, passing a vacant restaurant. And our analysis found that these church officials were offering two, three, four times what the property appraiser said the properties were valued. 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. Many of the properties werent on the market. Can you give me a sense of the scale and how they have made this happen with the relatively little fanfare over the years? Limited liability companies managed by Hayes, the attorney whos done work on behalf of the church, bought almost the entire square block directly east of the North Ward school. The Times counted each parcel that was assigned a value by the property appraiser as a single property with five exceptions. 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. EMPIRICAL PROSPECTING COMPANY LIMITED. Since July 2019, eight limited liability companies managed or operated by members of the church have bought 45 properties in North Marina, including Chesneys. He called the Tampa Bay Times questions about parishioners activity not just stupid, false and offensive, but un-American., You talk out of both sides of your mouth: If redevelopment is being done by the city or a member of another religion, not Scientology, it is good; if redevelopment is being done by a Scientologist, it is bad, Shaw said. Seventy-one percent of the 60 parcels the Church of Scientology owns under its name in Pinellas County are tax-exempt for religious purposes. Epstein declined to name his client but responded to questions from the Times with an affidavit declaring it was not the Church of Scientology. The Tampa Bay Times reports that members of the church have spent $103 million on property in the city of Clearwater known as "The first Scientology city" since . The churchs hostility toward the public became clear from its first days in the city in fall 1975. 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? 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. These workers sign billion year contracts, are paid very little, work around the clock. They now own most commercial property. businesses owned by scientologists. Since arriving in Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has bought 60 properties in Pinellas County under its name: 58 are in the city of Clearwater and 49 are downtown. Accuracy and availability may vary. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email along with 7129 other subscribers. This is a story for another time. Fuster and Ozsan go back a long way to Altea Real Property Ltd. in London. 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. CBRE is an acronym for CB Richard Ellis. Be informed that their owners are local Scientologists who support the abuses of Scientology leader David Miscavige. Some have donated millions to the church. Four high-ranking defectors describe bizarre behavior and physical beatings inflicted by Scientology leader David Miscavige. GARCIA-NAVARRO: What do you mean billion year contracts? We believe it's important to shed light on a powerful institution that's very controversial and plays a big role in our community. Companies tied to the Tampa Bay Times Investigative Fund of Scientologys full-time work force, the spent! Tried to take control of the transactions unfolded the same way County at $.. 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