Tyler Rice has run Carillon Flooring Center on North Fort Harrison for 30 years, the business his father started there in 1964. Terri Novitsky and Hayes did not return calls and emails requesting comment. All they did was act like children and make crude sex/homophobic/racial jokes about being raped, gangbanged, etc. The gallery does not include properties bought by companies run by church members. But on days with no events, downtown feels deserted. It is headed by David Miscavige [1] . Flag is run by the churchs full-time workforce, the Sea Org, whose members sign billion-year contracts and work around the clock. This purchase was part of Project Normandy, a covert Scientology program to take over Clearwater. 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. We don't know what they're planning to do with the properties. 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 . For example, David Miscaviges personal lawyer of 35 years Monique Yingling has never been a Scientologist. The inn had stood empty since being damaged in a 1989 arson fire and the Church of Scientology acquired the land in 1991 after it had been purchased by local property developer Terence J. McCarthy, the owner of T.J.M. 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. 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. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? Our opinion is that Riley was instructed to get ahead of the story by bringing up Scientology before he was asked about it. Looking at the Times map of the new ownership, City Council member David Allbritton recalled a moment from 2017 that now seems telling. Soters comment evokes for us what Captain Renault said in Casablanca: Im shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!. Among them was to make Clearwater known as the first Scientology city in the world.. They were very secretive, he said. In a letter to the Times, the church denied it ever tried to take control of the city. These workers sign billion year contracts, are paid very little, work around the clock. If this is Trish Duggans money, and Scientologist Osman Ozsan manages her money, then that could very likely make Trish Duggan the Scientologist financier behind the scenes on the Clearwater land purchases. 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. Spa not owned by a Scientologist. 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 is the center of that revenue stream. 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. Can you give me a sense of the scale and how they have made this happen with the relatively little fanfare over the years? 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. In 2017 the church acquired six downtown Clearwater retail properties through limited liability companies. Scientologys survival depends on the preservation of its headquarters in Clearwater. 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. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Who are they buying from, and how much were they offering? 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. 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. Some landlords tied to Scientology have helped bring life to portions of downtown. Leading up to the waterfront, 22 of the first 33 buildings now have ties to Scientology. In those cases, four or more parcels purchased together clearly comprised a single piece of real estate. Thats a factor we do not control, Delk said. Instead, the aquarium sold it to the city in April 2017 for a lot less $4.25 million. Its designed not for recruiting new members but for hosting established followers. On Sept. 7, Epsteins employee was removed from the corporate filings of the company that own the land. 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. Scientologists living in Clearwater span the gamut of professional life . 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. And $99 million of the $103 million in real-estate deals over the past three years were in cash. 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. I mean, how big is the Church of Scientology where you are? Fair Game: Leah Remini & Mike Rinders Podcast, The Aftermath Foundation: Help for Those Who Want to Leave the Sea Org, Scientologys Membership Contract Goes Down in Flames in Court, Chris Shelton's Sensibly Speaking Podcast, Dr. Steven Hassan's Freedom of Mind Resource Center, Stefani Hutchison's Confront & Shatter Blog, The Aftermath Foundation: Helping Those Who Have Left the Sea Org, More Scientologists Getting Into Crypto: Alfreddie Johnson and Karilyn Youngman-Trammell and Their Solar Gold Cryptocurrency, More Grant Cardone Fraud: His Plan for Businesses to Use Credit Cards to Pay for Cardone Sales Training and then Declare Bankruptcy, Church of Scientology International(158), Scientology Fair Game: Cult Leader David Miscavige Orders Attacks on Marc Headley and His Business, US Federal Prosecutor Now Investigating Retired LAPD Cop & Scientology Pal Captain Cory Palka for Corruption, Subpoena-Evader and Thug Life Scientology Leader David Miscavige Served a Subpoena by a US Federal Court on Valentines Day 2023, Scientologist David Gentile Goes Down in Flames in the Pretrial Phase of His US Federal Criminal Case. Take away the church footprint, a few condo towers and all buildings owned by the government. 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 . GARCIA-NAVARRO: Just out of curiosity, when you say the tactics that they used in the '70s, what were those? 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. Tracey McManus is a Scientology reporter for the paper, and she joins us now. GARCIA-NAVARRO: What do you mean billion year contracts? The church stopped communicating with the city. 1. Most did not respond or declined to comment. Made an offer. 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. I would assume hes a Scientologist or involved with them in some fashion. Clarification made on CBRE and thank you for pointing that out. In January and February 2017, as the council was preparing to approve the consultants concept, a handful of companies bought six commercial properties downtown. The Florida Secretary of State records show the firm went dormant in 2012. Purchases in the North Marina Area took off in July 2019, three months after the City Council voted to buy the historic North Ward Elementary School across the street from the Seminole ramp and Andrus condo. The church attracts members through a theology of self improvement and understanding. The church acquired three others in a land swap. Osman Ozsan is of interest to us because he is connected to Rod Riley, a non-Scientologist realtor and real estate developer from Arizona. The church offered $15 million for the parcel. Local TV station WTSP reports. He walked away with nothing. Should we cut my sister out of the family inheritance? 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. 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. Hayes, the attorney and parishioner involved in the rest of the North Marina purchases, was added as manager on the companies filings. 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. The church also targeted the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Justice and scores of foreign governments. About 72 percent of those properties are tax exempt for religious uses. Scientologist normally dont deal with outsiders in my experience. 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. Fischler approached Bosi again in September. Scientology has been accused of using the information as blackmail. 2. The Times counted each parcel that was assigned a value by the property appraiser as a single property with five exceptions. The Church is the largest property taxpayer in downtown Clearwater, paying nearly $1 million in property taxes last year. Seventy-one percent of the 60 parcels the Church of Scientology owns under its name in Pinellas County are tax-exempt for religious purposes. No one from the church dictates to me what to buy, what to sell, what to do.. 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. The Times report describes spaces such as a former jewelry store, an empty Walgreens and a deserted laundromat sitting empty and unused. To reiterate our earlier point, Ozsan, Gregori And Company LLC has only two client accounts. Fischler offered Bosi $1.4 million, almost three times what the property was valued. But his offer had a catch. #4 Best Company In Clearwater Company Description: Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Clearwater, Fla., Senior Home Care is a privately held company operating nearly 50 branch locations with 1,800 employees through its Senior Home Care offices in Florida and Synergy Home Care offices in Louisiana. Brian Andrus controls companies that last year bought a marina on N Osceola Avenue and six nearby properties, all bordering a redevelopment project at the citys public boat ramp. Rileys Clearwater Marina District development has a $350 million price tag on it. Lee sold when Fischler upped her offer to $410,000 cash for the building valued at $109,000 by the property appraiser. The project broke ground in August and is aimed at helping bring businesses and foot traffic to the empty storefronts in the surrounding blocks. Businesses might see this city project and say, yeah, let me take a chance on downtown and open up a business. Learn how your comment data is processed. Gensler does all the architectural work for Scientologys Ideal Orgs. Then walk down Cleveland Street downtowns main artery. However, it hasnt always been clear to me as to just what does that actually mean.. Miscaviges offer to revitalize downtown hinged on the city ending its attempt to buy one vacant lot on which the church was also bidding. Osman Ozsan has been a Scientologist since the 1990s. DEUTERIUM INVESTMENT ADVISORS LIMITED 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. Getty. Andrus helped carry out a plan to stop a Scientologist who had spied on the federal government from turning himself in to the FBI. CBRE is an acronym for CB Richard Ellis. Most of the sales have not previously been reported. The Times also contacted representatives of all 32 companies it identified that bought downtown real estate over the past three years. Zano did not respond to questions about what his plans for the properties. "You have some buyers here that their motivations are not really clear," he said, "so it's tough to make economic sense out . 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. In private meetings with council members, the Scientology leader described a plan for high-end shops, Cleveland Street facade renovations and an entertainment complex involving actor Tom Cruise, Scientologys most famous parishioner. After the City Council voted to buy the lot in April 2017, Miscavige refused to talk to city officials for the next two and a half years. They doubled the churchs footprint in less than three years. EMPIRICAL PROSPECTING COMPANY LIMITED. Real estate agent Brian Andrus controls seven properties bought around the citys public boat ramp. 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. David Gentile is creative with money and had hundreds of bank accounts and sub-funds when he ran GPB Capital. Xenu Who? This month, Shahab Emrani was elected to the Downtown Development Board, which helps promote downtown. Real estate agent Daphna Fischler, a Scientologist, called and showed up to the shop a handful of times in mid-2018. 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. (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 Church takes seriously its responsibility and interest in the future of the area. Disloyalty has life-changing consequences. Any property owned by a Scientologist or linked to a Scientologist is owned by the church, because the church owns its parishioners, said De Vocht, the former executive in charge of real estate, who reported directly to Miscavige. By then, he had found an auto garage he could buy in Dunedin. 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