companies owned by scientologists in clearwater

This is a very interesting report. 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. Accuracy and availability may vary. Additional Clearwater real estate purchases began in 2019. Take away the church footprint, a few condo towers and all buildings owned by the government. The hotel has 11 stories and features 220 rooms, three restaurants, a swimming pool and a . It appears that Project Normandy is still operational. Reporters analyzed thousands of rows of data and pulled more than 1,000 records from the Pinellas County Property Appraiser, the Pinellas County Clerk of Court and the Florida Division of Corporations. Fifty-eight are in the city of Clearwater and 49 are downtown.. GPB Capital Holdings: Court-Appointed Monitors Report on Q4 2022 Activities. Dozens of residents showed up to speak. In the 70s, Andrus was named an unindicted co-conspirator in a Scientology plan to infiltrate the government. There are 22 Church of Scientology facilities in downtown Clearwater. 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. City Council member Mark Bunker said although the church is not the official buyer of the downtown and North Marina properties, there is reason to believe Scientology leader David Miscavige is orchestrating the parishioner-operated companies making the acquisitions. 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.. Gentile also purchased several Clearwater companies owned by Scientologists who may have invested the proceeds into land deals. Andrus, the former church operative, has broken ground on a condo tower near the citys boat ramp and filed plans for another housing complex nearby. More interesting is that the 15 parcels of land Riley plans acquire in Clearwater are owned by Scientologists. EMPIRICAL PROSPECTING COMPANY LIMITED. When the council voted to buy the property, the chamber erupted in applause. I saw a business opportunity, he said. A broker who was a Scientologist approached a downtown property owner. Advance! CONNIE HUMBURG, TRACEY McMANUS, ELI MURRAY, ELI ZHANG | Times. Clearwater is the permanent home to more than 10,000 Scientology parishioners. Rileys Clearwater Marina District development has a $350 million price tag on it. . He is linked to the Church of Scientology via the Epsteins and Trish Duggan. He walked away with nothing. Thats not happening with almost any of these properties., [ More reaction: What Clearwaters City Council thinks about Scientologys downtown takeover ]. Seventy-one percent of the 60 parcels the Church of Scientology owns under its name in Pinellas County are tax-exempt for religious purposes. That company has had no connection to Coldwell Banker for decades. (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. It set aside $10 million for secret real estate purchases in Clearwater. Hes starting to assemble properties, Allbritton said. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. They haven't started construction - or are they going to redevelop them and bring businesses in and contribute to a vibrant downtown? Its too soon to say how the shift in ownership will affect downtown. High-ranking defectors provide an unprecedented inside look at Scientology, its leader and the Lisa McPherson case. Sep 19, 2022 - Anonymous Employee in Clearwater, FL. They haven't submitted redevelopment plans. The land grab started as tensions grew between the church and the Clearwater City Council. However, this tactic can backfire when it comes across as answering a question no one has asked. 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 two years after the properties were sold to a company run by two Scientologists, no redevelopment plans have been submitted. 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 used the date that transactions were recorded in Clerk of Courts official record as the date of sale. 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. Riley had no reason to mention that he had worked with Mormons and will now work to communicate with the Scientologists in Clearwater. This reads like deliberately premanufactured PR to us. During spiritual counseling, parishioners are interrogated about their deepest secrets, which are recorded in folders and stored indefinitely. 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? His partner is Scientologist Maria Dolores Gregori Fuster. But Lee assumed the church was involved. Part of the reason for that is because they have this Sea Org that works full time and is paid less than $50 a week. The more its isolated and doesnt have people who are non-Scientologists around the area, the better.. Epstein could have simply told the reporter his client was not the Church of Scientology and left it at that. And he was going to recruit high-end retail to some of the empty storefronts because downtown Clearwater's pretty depressed. And the properties cover about 100 acres. He shows up in Clearwater from Arizona a few months ago. If our work stats did not improve day to day . Inc. magazine's 2019 report on the 5,000 fastest-growing privately owned businesses in America cites 16 firms based in Clearwater. Typically, when people buy commercial real estate, they move forward with construction or redevelopment. 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. Many of the properties werent on the market. synergy rv transport pay rate; stephen randolph todd. The church stopped communicating with the city. And he was going to build an entertainment complex with Tom Cruise. Flag is run by the churchs full-time workforce, the Sea Org, whose members sign billion-year contracts and work around the clock. 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. What Clearwaters City Council thinks, Scientologys 40 years of conflict with Clearwater, recapped, See a slideshow of all the churchs buildings. Norm Novitsky hung up when asked by a reporter about the companies plans. 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. The downtown and North Marina properties bought by limited liability companies managed or operated by members of Scientology remain on the tax rolls. That's the findings of a story in the Tampa Bay Times that's headlined clear takeover. Council members were less delighted by the discovery, however especially since many of the lots and storefronts purchased by owners with Scientology ties are sitting vacant while the Clearwater City Council aims to turn the downtown waterfront into a dining and entertainment destination. Scientologists living in Clearwater span the gamut of professional life . Lee sold when Fischler upped her offer to $410,000 cash for the building valued at $109,000 by the property appraiser. Hayes, the attorney and parishioner involved in the rest of the North Marina purchases, was added as manager on the companies filings. Thats a factor we do not control, Delk said. Based upon on our new hypothesis that Trish Duggan may be the financier of the land purchases, the logic of bringing in non-Scientologist Rod Riley to act as the frontman makes sense as it can serve to counter any accusation that Scientology is taking over Clearwater. Scientology leader David Miscavige had his own redevelopment plan. Andrus was named an unindicted co-conspirator in Scientologys government espionage scheme, which sent 11 Scientologists to federal prison. Many of their properties weren't listed for sale. Why does this matter? Theres no such thing in Scientology. 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. The church requires followers to shun family members, friends and business contacts who defy it. We previously reported on CA South Development. 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. Once we dug into the data and pulled records, we found that LLCs tied to the Church of Scientology had bought about 100 properties. Cons. Scientology spokesman Ben Shaw said in a statement that the church is not involved with the acquisitions. 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! The Church was unaware of the land purchases? Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. They doubled the churchs footprint in less than three years. Agami also signed two more leases on the same block with restaurants owned by people not connected to the church. ), [ Slideshow: See every building owned by the church ], In the 90s, a Scientology magazine listed the churchs goals for 2000. A buyer, whose identity Chesney never learned, agreed to his asking price without countering $1 million cash for the adjoining parcels, which was four times the value set by the Pinellas County Property Appraiser. Almost all of the properties were quietly bought through limited liability companies required to disclose their operators but not their owners as is pretty standard in real estate. And our analysis found that these church officials were offering two, three, four times what the property appraiser said the properties were valued. She said, Well, well have to invite you down for dinner, he recalled. The Church is the largest property taxpayer in downtown Clearwater, paying nearly $1 million in property taxes last year. The 1.4 acre lot was across the street from City Hall and adjacent to a 13-story Scientology religious retreat. 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. The church attracts members through a theology of self improvement and understanding. Rodney Riley is the CEO of RSR Capital Advisors in Clearwater, Florida. Both the Church of Scientology and GPB Capital denied it. Among them was to make Clearwater known as the first Scientology city in the world.. 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. Local TV station WTSP reports. It has to be somebody with the money to invest in a real estate development deal. . They have control over what businesses, if any, come in. I had to make a decision, Bosi said. The Church of Scientology and its parishioners now own a lot of real estate in Clearwater, Fla., as reported by the Tampa Bay Times. 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. City officials say their dedication to redeveloping the waterfront hasnt changed. 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/ After that, the Times writes, Scientology began grabbing property at an unprecedented rate, adding that they now own most commercial property on every block within walking distance of the waterfront, putting the secretive church firmly in control of the areas future. 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