Copyright 2023 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. In late 2020, Terri Novitsky also was elected to the Downtown Development Board, an advisory group tasked with promoting downtown. In both communities [comparing Mesa to Clearwater], there is a major presence of a church. The main reason why developers didnt want it was they didnt want to be near the Church of Scientology, Searcy said. Scientology has been accused of using the information as blackmail. A lot of them are vacant lots, vacant buildings, empty storefronts. Subscribe to our free Stephinitely newsletter. 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. It has to be somebody with the money to invest in a real estate development deal. But companies controlled by different parishioners bought neighboring properties that create clear assemblages of land. When the council voted to buy the property, the chamber erupted in applause. MCMANUS: Yeah, I think that the key here is the uncertainty. They now own most commercial property on every block within walking distance of the waterfront. It set aside $10 million for secret real estate purchases in Clearwater. Another tell. But after a dispute with the city, Miscavige cut communication. Why does this matter? This is a very interesting report. Graphics by ELI MURRAY 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. TRACEY MCMANUS: Hi, Lulu. VIDEO: Finally, Scientific Proof that Scientologys Body Thetans Cannot Exist! Fischler, a local real estate agent, negotiated at least 10 of the downtown deals, according to interviews with sellers. About 72 percent of those properties are tax exempt for religious uses. 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. Help us keep bringing stories like this to you. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard had written about doing away with governments and replacing them with a Scientology-run society. Among them was to make Clearwater known as the first Scientology city in the world.. The acquisitions mirror the pattern that unfolded downtown between 2017 and 2019, when companies tied to Scientology bought 100 properties within walking distance of the waterfront and the churchs international spiritual headquarters, then left many of those buildings vacant and lots undeveloped. The church, its members and companies they control now own 185 properties that cover 101 acres in the center of downtown. 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. He has also lived in Hong Kong and South Korea. 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. Miscavige cut off communication with the city. He walked away with nothing. 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. This purchase was part of Project Normandy, a covert Scientology program to take over Clearwater. 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. . But the promised downtown revival never came. Flag is supposed to be an insulated oasis. And the tactics they were using to establish area control included infiltration, spying, smearing enemies. DEUTERIUM INVESTMENT ADVISORS LIMITED Suspicion swirled. Tom De Vocht, a former Scientology executive who oversaw the churchs property in Clearwater from 1996 to 2001, said he believes Scientology is responding to the citys efforts by creating a buffer to keep the public away. 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 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. According to his resume, he started the firm in 2003. The church stopped communicating with the city. 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. Andrus helped carry out a plan to stop a Scientologist who had spied on the federal government from turning himself in to the FBI. 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. Rice said hes been surprised that he has not been approached by brokers trying to buy his 10,000-square-foot building. 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. Block after block, vacant lots sit untouched, and storefronts remain empty: A former jewelry store. pauline hanson dancing with the stars; just jerk dance members; what happens if a teacher gets a dui He took over Bob Lees Auto to continue the business legacy and served on the Downtown Development Board for a decade. Instead, the aquarium sold it to the city in April 2017 for a lot less $4.25 million. Andrus did not respond to an email, phone message, a note left at his office or a certified letter. Andrus involvement in Scientology goes back decades and includes his participation in a plan during the 1970s to stop a church member who had spied on the federal government from turning himself in to the FBI. By then, he had found an auto garage he could buy in Dunedin. 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. Coincident with this Riley-registered RSR Capital Advisors as an LLC in Florida on March 21, 2022. (Everything owned by parishioner-run companies is still on the tax rolls. 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. February 1976: Scientology files a $1 million lawsuit against Cazares alleging he violated its constitutional rights with his public criticism. Jim Huestler is the blocks only holdout with a rental home on the northeast corner. But on days with no events, downtown feels deserted. After the Times reported the purchases, Miscavige acknowledged the properties were bought for a second revitalization strategy one devised by the church. At least eight businesses that got new landlords tied to Scientology moved out and have not been replaced. . Former parishioners say the church has a history of interfering in Scientologists downtown business. It teaches that expanding Scientology is key to saving the world, then wields a system of totalitarian policies to keep parishioners in line. This month, Shahab Emrani was elected to the Downtown Development Board, which helps promote downtown. 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. 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. But now these LLCs tied to Scientology control the retail district. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Explain to me why the paper has a Scientology reporter. The Times report describes spaces such as a former jewelry store, an empty Walgreens and a deserted laundromat sitting empty and unused. In 2017 the church acquired six downtown Clearwater retail properties through limited liability companies. (On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times reported that since 2017, companies run by members of Scientology bought another 86 downtown commercial properties. Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday. Fifty-eight are in the city of Clearwater and 49 are downtown.. No one from the church dictates to me what to buy, what to sell, what to do., From the archives (May 2019):A supposed Scientology cruise ship is quarantined in St. Lucia over measles. 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. 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. He promoted the site to about 75 hoteliers and developers across the country. The report notes that half of these properties have been bought since January 2017 after the organization and the Clearwater City Council presented competing redevelopment projects to the downtown district and its waterfront. Times Staff WritersOct. The church offered $15 million for the parcel. Can you give me a sense of the scale and how they have made this happen with the relatively little fanfare over the years? The city received an informal inquiry last year related to vacant land at the southeast corner of Seminole Street and North Fort Harrison Avenue. However, we reserve our prior opinion and modify it by stating that some GPB Capital money may be in the Clearwater real estate purchases mix. Construction on eight townhomes on the south end of the marina began Oct. 1, according to county records. 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. Whats more, the Times found a Scientology magazine from the 1990s that listed goals for the new millennium. 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. GARCIA-NAVARRO: And I guess the larger concern is that this could really thwart the city's plans for redevelopment if the Scientologist organizations are going to have all this property that they're going to keep for their own purposes. 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. Xenu Who? A broker who was a Scientologist approached a downtown property owner. They have completed courses and spiritual counseling that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Its important for me to communicate with the Scientologists in Clearwater and have that ability to work side-by-side, Riley said, also noting he is now based in Clearwater. There is ZERO chance of me getting sucked in. Reached at their condo, his wife declined to comment. 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 an interview with Scientology-owned "Freedom Magazine" Gendusa said that she moved to Clearwater to study Scientology more than 25 years ago. The church requires followers to shun family members, friends and business contacts who defy it. 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. Miscaviges offer to revitalize downtown hinged on the city ending its attempt to buy one vacant lot on which the church was also bidding. 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. He saw the area improve when police cracked down on drugs and prostitution decades ago. Over half are owned or operated by Scientologists. He is not listed on the corporate filings for any of the eight limited liability companies that recently bought the North Marina properties. Typically, when people buy commercial real estate, they move forward with construction or redevelopment. None of the other parishioners whose companies bought property since 2017 responded to questions about their plans. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. In those cases, four or more parcels purchased together clearly comprised a single piece of real estate. But its potential is still untapped, with prime vacant land overlooking Clearwater Harbor. 20, 2019. The origin story for the CB in CBRE does come from Coldwell Banker, but that was a very long time ago. 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. In January and February 2017, a handful of limited liability companies bought six prime downtown parcels. After negotiations, Kerrs company paid Yarbrough $1.1 million in cash for the lots, then valued by Pinellas County at $331,000. City officials say their dedication to redeveloping the waterfront hasnt changed. They paid $26 million. The church promised to spend $55 million. And yes, everyone that works here is asked to keep politics and religion out . Investigative journalism like this is the most expensive work that we do. The 2017-2019 Downtown Clearwater land purchases made by Scientologists totaled $103 million. MCMANUS: Right - because the city officials have said that there's only so many factors they control. They called it, quote, "little more than self-serving propaganda intended to give the appearance of objective reporting." Hayes, the attorney and parishioner involved in the rest of the North Marina purchases, was added as manager on the companies filings. Companies controlled by Hayes have bought about half the property on Rices block and nearly the entire block directly south. He shows up in Clearwater from Arizona a few months ago. Since arriving in Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has purchased 60 properties in Pinellas County under its name. It is all so convenient for Rodney that it appears to be scripted. Scientologys international spiritual headquarters is anchored by the Flag Building, on left. About 72 percent of those properties are tax exempt for religious uses. ), [ Slideshow: See every building owned by the church ], In the 90s, a Scientology magazine listed the churchs goals for 2000. The land grab started as tensions grew between the church and the Clearwater City Council. In her bombshell 2019 news story Clear Takeover, Tracey McManus revealed that $103 million in Downtown Clearwater land purchases were made by a series of LLC's owned by Scientologists. If our work stats did not improve day to day . 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 Clearwater. She said, Well, well have to invite you down for dinner, he recalled. And he was going to build an entertainment complex with Tom Cruise. CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) A newspaper report says the Church of Scientology and companies run by its members spent more than $100 million over the past . Since July 2019, eight limited liability companies managed or operatedby members of the church have bought 45 properties in North Marina, including Chesneys. To reiterate our earlier point, Ozsan, Gregori And Company LLC has only two client accounts. The downtown and North Marina properties bought by limited liability companies managed or operated by members of Scientology remain on the tax rolls. 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. It appears that Project Normandy is still operational. Non-Scientologists who get too close are a threat to the operation, said Mat Pesch, who spent 27 years in the Sea Org and worked as Flags treasury secretary before defecting in 2005. Its a business, Pesch said. Over the next four decades, the church gradually amassed 58 properties in Clearwater under its name, 49 of them downtown. Lares declined again when Fischler met him at a restaurant in Pinellas Park for lunch, and once more when she tried in May. Many of the properties werent on the market. 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. It bought a hotel and wrote plans to take control of the city. High-ranking defectors provide an unprecedented inside look at Scientology, its leader and the Lisa McPherson case. All rights reserved. But David Kerr, a local real estate agent and parishioner, walked in one day with an offer. DEUTERIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Lares and his wife, Emily, sold the diner inside a decade ago. Business Outlook. Its members bought property on surrounding blocks. 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. Scientologists Brett Miller and Joanie and Steve Sigal recommended Frank Hibbard for Mayor. A few months after Yarbrough relocated, a new electrical company moved into his old building. GARCIA-NAVARRO: What is the view of the local community? Tracey McManus is a Scientology reporter for the paper, and she joins us now. We interpret it as the Tampa Bay Times getting too close for Mr. Epsteins comfort. 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.. 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. (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. The city and the church fought in court for years. Pinellas Park for lunch, and storefronts remain empty: a former jewelry store, an Walgreens... Development deal companies owned by scientologists in clearwater have to invite you down for dinner, he.. Property owner erupted in applause will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday, Novitsky... This to you dedication to redeveloping the waterfront Hayes, the church has a history of interfering in Scientologists business... Church gradually amassed 58 properties in Pinellas Park for lunch, and more! 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