http://www.sptimes.com/2004/12/19/Northpinellas/Edifice_sits_empty__b.shtml Edifice sits empty, but why? December 19, 2004

Speculation abounds, but rumors aren't true, the Church of Scientology says. The Flag Building's interior must wait until every detail is worked out.

CLEARWATER - The Church of Scientology's seven-story Flag Building rose impressively, filling an entire city block.

By mid 2002, the Mediterranean Revival-style edifice looked nearly finished, at least on the outside. Church leaders promised a late 2003 grand opening.

But early in 2003, work stopped. The grand project has been at a virtual standstill.

What gives?

Church officials made no public statement about the long delay.

So, in a town where rumors about Scientology are a community pastime, the speculation began.

Did they run out of money?

Did their ambitious plans overreach members' needs for services?

"I get questions about it all the time," said Clearwater's Mayor-elect Frank Hibbard. "People ask all sorts of things. They speculate. I just don't know what the story is."

Well, it's not money problems, said church spokesman Ben Shaw. It's got more to do with changing, and then changing again, benign features such as paint colors, molding styles and carpet.

The church refuses to start work, Shaw said, until plans are finalized "down to the last desk and wall design." Those plans now are nearly at that point, he said.

Work should resume early next year, he said. But he wasn't more definite than that. In the past 20 months, Shaw noted, the church bought, renovated or restored 11 buildings in nine cities around the world, such as Madrid; New York City; Johannesburg, South Africa; Brussels; and San Francisco.

"My point being, that's where our attention has been internationally," Shaw said.

As for rumors of lack of funds, Shaw scoffed. "Nothing could be further from the truth," he said. The Flag Building has been fully funded for more than a year, he said.

To understand how the church could leave a building so massive, so expensive, vacant for so long, requires an understanding of how Scientologists think.

"The difference is this, we build for eternity," Shaw said. "When we do that, we want it perfect."

That's different, he said, than a commercial developer whose financial bottom line causes time constraints.

"We don't have that," Shaw said.

That can frustrate a non-Scientologist like Steve Klar, the Clearwater architect of record on the Flag Building.

"No other business in the world would put up a (multimillion-dollar) shell and then let it sit empty for two years," Klar said.

The money lost by not having the building complete makes no business sense, he said.

"Clearly it's to their favor to have that thing built," he said. "Regardless of religion, business is business. It's very unusual."

The air conditioning duct work is finished, Klar said. The basement kitchen is installed. In short, it's completely ready for interior work, he said.

"Everything is just sitting there," he said.

Klar, too, dismissed rumors of money problems. "They really have the depth," he said.

Rather, it's the church's obsession with detail. The many design changes, some significant, all had to be approved by church officials in California, Klar said. And rather than just starting work and then making changes as they go along, church leaders insist on signing off on every minute detail before work starts.

The original interior designs showed an art deco look that Klar described as resembling a cruise ship from the 1920s. The motif made sense for a religion whose staffers join the "Sea Org." Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard was a sailor, and some religious training is still done aboard a cruise ship called the Freewinds. Clearwater is called the church's Flag land base.

That was the favored design for about a year and a half, Klar said. But when it came time to finalize construction documents, church leaders decided to go with a more conservative Mediterranean look.

During the ensuing delay, prices of steel and labor spiked, pushing the project's total cost from about $60-million to $70-million, Klar estimated.

"They want this to be the granddaddy of them all," he said.

Earlier this year, the city approved the church's reworked plans, but the drawings now will have to be revised again to include numerous changes, Klar said.

Once work does begin, it will take about a year to complete, Shaw said. Across the street, the church's signature Fort Harrison Hotel will be encased in scaffolding beginning in late January in preparation for a $20-million facelift. Then, later in the year, the church will start a four-story parking garage southeast of the Flag Building.

"It's going to be a big blitz," Shaw said.

That's welcome news to city officials.

"I think everyone would like to see it finished," Hibbard said.

He noted that the new Flag Building will consolidate the church's downtown activities, something he and others hope will reduce the flood of uniformed church employees on downtown streets.

"It looks like an abandoned construction site from the outside, and that doesn't speak well for our efforts for the downtown," said council member Hoyt Hamilton. "It would be a plus for everybody to see some progress."

And the sooner it's finished, Hamilton said, the sooner the Fort Harrison Hotel will return to the city's tax rolls.

Just 27 percent of the Fort Harrison Hotel is now taxable because portions are used for Scientology practices. The church paid almost $91,000 in taxes on it this year. Once renovated, it will be fully taxable as a hotel with three public restaurants, meeting rooms and a ballroom. This year, that tax bill would have been about $337,000, said Property Appraiser Jim Smith.

On the Flag building, the church now pays only vacant property taxes - $20,407 this year. But once completed, it will be entirely tax exempt because it will be used for religious purposes, Shaw said."

<p><hr><p> From: henri <henri@nowhere.com>
Subject: Re: Edifice sits empty, but why? (SP Times)
Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2004 13:27:51 -0500
Organization: The Reality-Based Community
Message-ID: <4lhbs05hiau479tsepnqgj7jqgo78sbp4h@4ax.com>

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 04:40:51 -0800, Zorrosblade........Z <zorrosblade@fastmail.fm> wrote:

>http://www.sptimes.com/2004/12/19/Northpinellas/Edifice_sits_empty__b.shtml
>Edifice sits empty, but why?
>December 19, 2004

SP Times mainly ignores letters from people not in Florida, in my experience, so if someone in Florida (or someone willing to gamble) wants to try, you could write a letter to the editor explaining that it is no mystery to anyone who has bothered looking into it why the SP Building is not complete. Only an incompetent imbecile like Rob Farley who gets his information from Scientology and its employees would have any trouble with this.

http://www.sptimes.com/letters

In fact, you can figure out the reason why from Scientology's own internal materials that they distribute to contributors. Just add up the names and multiply by their class of donations to get a baseline minimum of how much money has been raised for this project, despite Ben Shaw's claim that the building has been paid for for over a year. (A real reporter might have raised an eyebrow at that claim, but then a real reporter would have known they're still collecting millions in donations for it. But then nobody ever accused that braindead assclown Rob Farley of being a real reporter.)

Anyway, the point, which can be made in 50 words or less, is that the reason the building is not complete is that based on claims from Scientology's own publication concerning the building, Scientology is collecting millions in donations toward the building's completions, a flow of donations which would stop if they actually completed it.

---

http://tinyurl.com/6ymxy

Stats:

These numbers are a "rough" estimate and on the LOW side because it does not include all the "Double" Cornerstone members ( $70,000.00) and others in the middle of upgrading their status.

In Jan 2002, there were 950 members on the list. In April 2002, there were 968 members on the list. In Sept 2002, there were 1019 members on the list In March 2003, there were 1063 members on the list In August 2003, there were 1098 members on the list In Feb 2004, there were 1179 members on the list In March 2004, there were 1204 members on the list In July 2004, there were 1218 members on the list In Nov 2004, there were 1253 members on the list

The Income total in Jan 2002 was $ 67,100,000.00 The Income total in April 2002 was $ 69,475,000.00 The Income total in September 2002 was $72,070,000.00 The Income total in March 2003 was $81,345,000.00 The Income total in August 2003 was $84,500,000.00 The Income total in February 2004 was $90,790,000.00 The Income total in March 2004 was $92,110,000.00 The Income total in July 2004 was $88,905,000.00 The Income total in November 2004 is $92,915,000.00

<p><hr><p> From: "cultxpt" <cultxpt@ev1.net>
Subject: Watch for SP building fraud
Date: 19 Dec 2004 14:46:09 -0800
Message-ID: <1103496369.144599.187630@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>
Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Injection-Info: z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com; posting-host=68.2.112.160; posting-account=VOCF9wwAAADAbqo5dfspSsEBt719n5nT

"As for rumors of lack of funds, Shaw scoffed. "Nothing could be further from the truth," he said. The Flag Building has been fully funded for more than a year, he said." (St. Petersburg Times, 12/19/04). So has anyone seen any letters in the last year asking for donations for the SP building? If so, according to Shaw, Scientology was commiting fraud. If anyone sees any mailings begging for money for the SP building, please post about it here and send a copy to the St. Petersburg Times.

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