Rod Riley has no background in Scientology. About 72 percent of those properties are tax exempt for religious uses. City leaders spent tens of millions improving streets, subsidizing residential projects and hiring consultants. Nearly all of the roughly two dozen people listed as operating the companies are Scientologists. Hes starting to assemble properties, Allbritton said. The Church of Scientology and companies run by its members have spent $103 million since 2017 buying about 100 properties. Operatives framed the mayor in a staged hit-and-run and spread false rumors he was having an extramarital affair. Almost immediately, a decades-long trickle of purchases by church members turned into a flood. 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? . 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. Candidates and Scientologists Emrani, Kintzel and . 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 told the paper. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with reporter Tracey McManus. The impact is clearest in the heart of downtown. He wanted the council to stop trying to buy a vacant lot on which the church was also bidding. Disloyalty has life-changing consequences. 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. In a letter to the Times, the church denied it ever tried to take control of the city. Soters comment evokes for us what Captain Renault said in Casablanca: Im shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!. Its like they are trying to control the whole thing.. They have completed courses and spiritual counseling that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. But the aquarium rejected his bid in order to sell it to the city for $4.25 million. Visitors are expected to stay in Scientologys hotels and eat at private church restaurants. I mean, how big is the Church of Scientology where you are? Instead, Epstein took the formal step of using an affidavit to deny that the Church of Scientology is not the client. Thats a factor we do not control, Delk said. CBRE is an acronym for CB Richard Ellis. 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. Pros. 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. Local Scientology spokesman Ben Shaw and international spokeswoman Karin Pouw did not respond to repeated requests by the Times for an interview with Scientology leader David Miscavige. We built a graphic demonstrating just how little is left. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Thats not happening with almost any of these properties., [ More reaction: What Clearwaters City Council thinks about Scientologys downtown takeover ]. The churchs campus grew slowly over decades. Real estate agent Daphna Fischler brokered at least 10 downtown sales on behalf of seven buyers. Lee sold when Fischler upped her offer to $410,000 cash for the building valued at $109,000 by the property appraiser. Scientology came to downtown Clearwater in 1975. Typically, when people buy commercial real estate, they move forward with construction or redevelopment. Since arriving in Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has purchased 60 properties in Pinellas County under its name. Mike Rinder, who led Scientologys intelligence arm before defecting in 2007, said any property owned by a parishioner is in the churchs control. Nearly two years after the properties were sold to a company run by two Scientologists, no redevelopment plans have been submitted. Block after block, vacant lots sit untouched, and storefronts remain empty: A former jewelry store. The Florida Secretary of States record on Rod Rileys RST Capital Advisors LLC: Categories: Clearwater, Osman Ozsan, Trish Duggan, Tagged as: CA South Development, Clearwater Marina District, David Gentile, DEUTERIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, DEUTERIUM INVESTMENT ADVISORS LIMITED, Gary Soter, Gregori And Company LLC, Maria Dolores Gregori Fuster, Megan Epstein, Osman Ozsan, Ozsan, RSR Capital Advisors LLC, Stephen Epstein, Tampa Bay Times, Tracey McManus, Trish Duggan, Re: The companies paid a combined $11.8 million in cash for 28 undeveloped parcels, five empty commercial buildings and a dozen homes, When I read that, I couldnt help but be reminded of the English Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas (On the third day of Christmas/ He has also lived in Hong Kong and South Korea. The church requires followers to shun family members, friends and business contacts who defy it. Rodney Riley is an interesting character in this whole thing. Howd that go? Recommend. Scientologists from across the globe make pilgrimages to the campus, called Flag. But the couple isnt ready to let go. 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. 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. February 27, 2023 endeavor air pilot contract No Comments . ARKWRIGHT ROAD LIMITED . Thank you very much. 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. I think it's comparable to say it's kind of, like, if there were to be a Vatican reporter in Vatican City. My plan is to keep renting, Huestler said. Yarbrough never learned the buyers identity. They posted guards wielding billy clubs and mace. The church promised to spend $55 million. Businesses might see this city project and say, yeah, let me take a chance on downtown and open up a business. CEO Approval. Among them was to make Clearwater known as the first Scientology city in the world.. 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. MCMANUS: Well, our reporting shows that Scientology has a big interest in preserving its downtown campus. And half the sales were for more than double what the properties were valued by the county property appraiser, the Times found. The project broke ground in August and is aimed at helping bring businesses and foot traffic to the empty storefronts in the surrounding blocks. The new owners also are sitting on about 30 undeveloped lots. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Who are they buying from, and how much were they offering? businesses owned by scientologistsdoes keegan allen have a child 26th February 2023 / in west warwick viewpoint / by / in west warwick viewpoint / by Half the properties were bought since January 2017. In North America, Melitta is the leading brand of coffee filters. It bought a hotel and wrote plans to take control of the city. Lares declined again when Fischler met him at a restaurant in Pinellas Park for lunch, and once more when she tried in May. Miscavige cut off communication with the city. They have control over what businesses, if any, come in. Local TV station WTSP reports. Real estate agent Brian Andrus controls seven properties bought around the citys public boat ramp. 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. Its designed not for recruiting new members but for hosting established followers. Since arriving in Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has bought 60 . And Scientology has an interest in keeping that insulated according to former executives that we've interviewed. It was owned by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Click here to read the story. So we kept our eye on the downtown purchases. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email along with 7129 other subscribers. Scientologists annually contribute $87,867,000 to charitable endeavors, money that uplifts the quality of life in Clearwater. 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. On Sept. 7, Epsteins employee was removed from the corporate filings of the company that own the land. (SOUNDBITE OF CHICK COREA'S "RETURN TO FOREVER"). Inc. magazine's 2019 report on the 5,000 fastest-growing privately owned businesses in America cites 16 firms based in Clearwater. Scientologist normally dont deal with outsiders in my experience. They paid $26 million. MCMANUS: Yeah, that's a good question. and last updated 7:53 PM, Oct 21, 2019. The goal was to capture the area immediately surrounding both Scientologys headquarters, City Hall and the city-owned waterfront. David Gentile is creative with money and had hundreds of bank accounts and sub-funds when he ran GPB Capital. The main reason why developers didnt want it was they didnt want to be near the Church of Scientology, Searcy said. 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. You have some buyers here that their motivations are not really clear, he said, so its tough to make economic sense out of it.. All five City Council members said they doubted the rash of purchases were unrelated. "You have some buyers here that their motivations are not really clear," he said, "so it's tough to make economic sense out . He had committed to downtown in 1997. And the Times found that in six cases buyers paid quadruple a propertys value. 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. 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 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. Im concerned, Mayor Frank Hibbard said. In a letter, the church said the Times is misinterpreting Scientology policy and that other religions also practice shunning. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. And the mayor at the time, Gabe Cazares, really raised the alarm. During spiritual counseling, parishioners are interrogated about their deepest secrets, which are recorded in folders and stored indefinitely. The city wants to turn downtown into a regional destination for food, drink and entertainment. 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. Theres no such thing in Scientology. In the world of poker this is called a tell. What Clearwaters City Council thinks, Scientologys 40 years of conflict with Clearwater, recapped, See a slideshow of all the churchs buildings. 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. $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. Both are supposed to open soon. After the Times reported the purchases, Miscavige met with city officials and acknowledged the church acquired them as part of his plan to spend $55 million renovating downtown buildings and recruiting high-end retail to empty store fronts. Flag is run by the churchs full-time workforce, the Sea Org, whose members sign billion-year contracts and work around the clock. 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. Visit a quote page and your recently viewed tickers will be displayed here. 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 to the Tampa Bay Times. It appears that Project Normandy is still operational. Most religions have a fundamentalist wing, Rinder said. Since 2017, the Church of Scientology and companies run by its members have bought 92 properties around the center of downtown. Copyright 2019 NPR. He is not listed on the corporate filings for any of the eight limited liability companies that recently bought the North Marina properties. Story by TRACEY McMANUS A few months after Yarbrough relocated, a new electrical company moved into his old building. Scientologys extraordinary influence over its members has been documented in government investigations and testimony from former parishioners throughout its 65-year history. 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. can t use carpenter's workbench skyrim; how long does it take a rat to starve to death; cowboy hat making supplies; why would i get a letter from circuit clerk Religious Technology Center (RTC) is the primary manager of Scientology intellectual property. Why does this matter? Leading up to the waterfront, 22 of the first 33 buildings now have ties to Scientology. 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. 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