companies owned by scientologists in clearwater

Fischler did not respond to phone messages, a certified letter or a note left at her condo. EMPIRICAL PROSPECTING COMPANY LIMITED. In recent puff piece media coverage in Clearwater, we are told that Riley: is in the process of buying 15 tracts in the Clearwater Marina area to develop what he is calling the Clearwater Marina District a connected walkable community with modern offices, retail, luxury condos and a boutique hotel, as well as affordable housing. But even when the church isnt in control, its presence can deter development. About $15.9 million was paid in cash. Cazares responds with an $8 million libel suit. Construction on eight townhomes on the south end of the marina began Oct. 1, according to county records. Whats more, the Times found a Scientology magazine from the 1990s that listed goals for the new millennium. This gallery shows all 60 properties Scientology owns under its name in Pinellas county and six additional retail properties the church acquired through limited liability companies in 2017. Ever since Ive been here, and ever since Ive dealt with Scientology officials, I have heard the leaders articulate that they want to see a vibrant downtown, Horne said. When asked by the Tampa Bay Times about the 2017-2018 land purchases totaling $103 million made by Scientologists, Church attorney Gary Soter wrote a letter in which he stated: 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. A few weeks later, John Yarbrough sold the building where he had run his electrical services business for 22 years. If you are looking for a career where your coworkers and leadership care about you and your success, AMI is the right place! During that period, downtown purchases by limited liability companies managed by members of Scientology accelerated. Typically, when people buy commercial real estate, they move forward with construction or redevelopment. His job appears to be one of a PR guy who can appeal to Clearwater City Government. 1. Scientology members fuel another land-buying surge in Clearwater Companies tied to the Church of Scientology paid millions in cash for 45 properties near downtown with no major plans in. But Scientologist-controlled companies are also sitting on at least 26 vacant lots and 31 empty storefronts and offices. 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 . MCMANUS: Yeah, that's a good question. 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.. In North America, Melitta is the leading brand of coffee filters. I saw a business opportunity, he said. Bosi wasnt interested. (SOUNDBITE OF CHICK COREA'S "RETURN TO FOREVER"). Scientologys survival depends on the preservation of its headquarters in Clearwater. So we kept our eye on the downtown purchases. 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. An elevated walkway connects the building to the Fort Harrison Hotel, the churchs first purchase in the city in 1975. She estimated that around a quarter of the . Norm Novitsky hung up when asked by a reporter about the companies plans. And Scientology has an interest in keeping that insulated according to former executives that we've interviewed. There is ZERO chance of me getting sucked in. After negotiations, Kerrs company paid Yarbrough $1.1 million in cash for the lots, then valued by Pinellas County at $331,000. 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. The few willing to answer questions said Scientology has no influence on their real estate dealings. 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. Made an offer. My plan is to keep renting, Huestler said. But the promised downtown revival never came. Gentile also purchased several Clearwater companies owned by Scientologists who may have invested the proceeds into land deals. Then he would try again, with new council members. We don't know what they're planning to do with the properties. Scientologys extraordinary influence over its members has been documented in government investigations and testimony from former parishioners throughout its 65-year history. 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. 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. The goal was to capture the area immediately surrounding both Scientologys headquarters, City Hall and the city-owned waterfront. But his offer had a catch. Some landlords tied to Scientology have helped bring life to portions of downtown. The greatest number of properties were bought by companies controlled by either Israeli businessman Itzhak Zano or another Scientologist who represents him. The hotel has 11 stories and features 220 rooms, three restaurants, a swimming pool and a . 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. I mean, how big is the Church of Scientology where you are? Click here to read the story. This one is owned by a parishioner who had been featured on the churchs Meet a Scientologist video series. Melitta coffee filters are manufactured in Clearwater, Florida. Since July 2019, eight limited liability companies managed or operatedby members of the church have bought 45 properties in North Marina, including Chesneys. Clearwater is the center of that revenue stream. 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. Do I spend another 10 years and see what happens in downtown Clearwater?, Scientology, Pinellas County and Clearwater Reporter. In interviews, sellers said most of the transactions unfolded the same way. No one from the church dictates to me what to buy, what to sell, what to do.. This is a very interesting report. Defectors have said they were paid less than $50 a week. Osman Ozsan runs two funds in Clearwater: According to online records, Ozsan, Gregori And Company LLC has only two client accounts: Osman Ozsan is on the Advisory Board of CA South Development, a firm founded by Scientologists Megan and Stephen Epstein. They started hosting concerts on the waterfront that now draw thousands. Members have to answer to their ethics officer for any act of disloyalty to Scientologys mission. Scientology has said it has 10 million followers, but surveys and accounts from former members suggest there are no more than 30,000 worldwide. How much of Clearwater is owned by Scientology? It was owned by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. In six cases, buyers paid quadruple the propertys value. 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. MCMANUS: Brokers representing these companies were approaching downtown property owners. The more its isolated and doesnt have people who are non-Scientologists around the area, the better.. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? Project Normandy was described in one of hundreds of internal memos Scientology officials exchanged about their plans to infiltrate and control Clearwater. Dozens of residents showed up to speak. I would ask that you clarify the reference to CBRE. Right now, at least 30 businesses owned by non-parishioners are renting from Scientologists. This makes no sense, except of course to a bigot.. 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. 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. (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, Editorial Cartoons for Thursday from Times Wire Services, Church of Scientologys presence in Pinellas County, Clear Takeover: How Scientology doubled its downtown Clearwater footprint in 3 years, Scientologys 40 years of conflict with Clearwater, recapped, What Clearwaters City Council thinks about Scientologys downtown takeover, Typhoon cancels Clearwaters sister city visit to Nagano. Riley is also working with Gensler on the development. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with reporter Tracey McManus. This month, Shahab Emrani was elected to the Downtown Development Board, which helps promote downtown. Thirteen were existing tenants when he bought the properties. We don't know if they're just going to continue to squat on them - because they haven't done anything yet. Looking at the Times map of the new ownership, City Council member David Allbritton recalled a moment from 2017 that now seems telling. The Times also contacted representatives of all 32 companies it identified that bought downtown real estate over the past three years. 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. Getty. At first, I just wanted to make a short video about the buildings and programs they are doing in clearwater. For the first time, a majority of the boards members will be Scientologists. Unrestrained 5-year-old child falls out of truck, run over in Tampa, troopers say, Hundreds of USF students join statewide walkout to protest DeSantis education policies, Rays Shane McClanahan already hitting upper 90s nice to see, Estimates vary widely on cost to expand school vouchers in Florida, Food company A Good Human is opening a vegan cooking school in St. Petersburg, Bucs new coordinator is confident! He publicly asked why there were security cards with billy clubs and mace on the roof. The church also targeted the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Justice and scores of foreign governments. Agami, the developer whose family gave $10 million, leased a storefront to a non-Scientologist that has become a successful restaurant since opening in 2017. None of the other parishioners whose companies bought property since 2017 responded to questions about their plans. In 2017 the church acquired six downtown Clearwater retail properties through limited liability companies. There is no discrimination for or against *any* religion. The 2017-2019 Downtown Clearwater land purchases made by Scientologists totaled $103 million. Times Staff WritersOct. 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. The Church was unaware of the land purchases? The logical conclusion is Scientology must have some sort of a game plan in mind, but theyre not public with what it is, City Council member Hoyt Hamilton said as he looked at a map of downtowns new ownership. After the Times reported the purchases, Miscavige acknowledged the properties were bought for a second revitalization strategy one devised by the church. Thats a factor we do not control, Delk said. Tyler Rice has run Carillon Flooring Center on North Fort Harrison for 30 years, the business his father started there in 1964. The analysis considered property within the general boundaries of Cedar Street to the north, Missouri Avenue to the east, Chestnut Street to the south and the Intracoastal Waterway to the west. 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. He wanted the council to stop trying to buy a vacant lot on which the church was also bidding. Scientologists deal with useful non-Scientologists quite often. If so, it's technically possible with a home IPO. And the Times found that in six cases buyers paid quadruple a propertys value. 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. and last updated 7:53 PM, Oct 21, 2019. Scientologist normally dont deal with outsiders in my experience. In those cases, four or more parcels purchased together clearly comprised a single piece of real estate. There are 22 Church of Scientology facilities in downtown Clearwater. Thank you for having us. They have control over what businesses, if any, come in. On Sept. 7, Epsteins employee was removed from the corporate filings of the company that own the land. Paid quadruple the propertys value building to the downtown purchases was to capture the area immediately both. Scientologists totaled $ 103 million three restaurants, a certified letter or a note at... Come in questions about their plans draw thousands of the new ownership City. Properties through limited liability companies clarify the reference to CBRE me getting sucked in,! City-Owned waterfront downtown development Board, which helps promote downtown found that in six cases buyers paid the... 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Since 2017 responded to questions about their plans to infiltrate and control Clearwater Fort Harrison Hotel, the first!

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