{"id":301522,"date":"2026-06-09T17:19:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T17:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/301522\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T17:19:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T17:19:09","slug":"clearwater-to-hand-downtown-street-over-to-scientologists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/301522\/","title":{"rendered":"Clearwater to hand downtown street over to Scientologists"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Church of Scientology\u2019s \u201cspiritual headquarters\u201d<\/a> in the heart of downtown Clearwater may be one step closer to completion.<\/p>\n

Over the past decade, the church has swiftly ramped up its development projects, fueling city planning and community concerns about downtown\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

The Clearwater City Council voted 3-2 June 4 to hand the church one block of South Garden Avenue.<\/p>\n

Scientology\u2019s Flag Service Organization<\/a> intends to build its long-planned flagship L. Ron Hubbard Hall, an all-glass auditorium and plaza, on the property.<\/p>\n

The move means the general public may lose the legal right to drive, walk or travel on the road, but the church must open the hall within six years.<\/p>\n

Scientology attorney Robert Potter insisted the venue hall and plaza planned for the site won\u2019t just be for parishioners.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be pedestrian-friendly,\u201d Potter said. \u201cIt will provide a lot of green space to downtown Clearwater, and it will be open to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a contentious public comment period during the council meeting, dozens of Clearwater residents pleaded their case for and against the handover.<\/p>\n

Potter\u2019s opening remarks emphasized the church\u2019s taxpayer status \u2014 the Tampa Bay Times previously reported that while most of the church-owned properties in Pinellas County are tax-exempt, properties bought by LLCs tied to Scientology are not.<\/p>\n

Scientology members who spoke emphasized their dedication to Clearwater civic life.<\/p>\n

Greg Norman, who owns a home remodeling company, said the venue would be a sanctuary for local Scientologists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the victim of a violent assault just for being a Scientologist,\u201d Norman recounted. \u201cWhen I think about L. Ron Hubbard Hall, I think about creating an environment where families, parishioners and families can gather safely and comfortably.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former church members had a different perspective on the development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was born into this mess,\u201d an unnamed resident said. \u201cIt destroyed everyone I know \u2014 their families, my family, everyone. So for a lot of people, it\u2019s not a pleasant thing to think of \u2014 \u2018Oh, let\u2019s drive by the new LRH Hall.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Former member opposition is rooted in allegations and experiences involving church practices, including policies toward critics and people who leave the organization.<\/p>\n

Save the Garden<\/a> is a grassroots group that formed in opposition to the proposal. Garden Avenue was once a hub for Clearwater\u2019s Black business community, and activists say preserving this heritage means preventing Scientology expansion.<\/p>\n

Save the Garden member Brooks Gibbs said Scientology\u2019s downtown takeover is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernments that enable the monopolization of property were something our founding fathers spoke out against,\u201d Gibbs said. \u201cIt\u2019s not only immoral; it\u2019s un-American.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gibbs added that a Church of Scientology spokeswoman publicly stated the FSO owns over 200 downtown properties.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the vote, Save the Garden collected 9,000 signatures asking for a ballot initiative to require public consent for future transfers. Now, it is suing the city after officials rejected the signatures.<\/p>\n

The city council agreed to vacate South Garden Avenue in March in exchange for $1.375 million. However, after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier weighed in to say the church essentially owned the land and didn\u2019t need to pay a fair market share, the proposal was scrapped.<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Lina Teixeira voted against the transfer, saying city engineers had concerns about public transit access and future stormwater infrastructure on the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe privatization of streets within an urban core runs fundamentally counter to the principles that guide a successful downtown development,\u201d Teixeira said. \u201cWe should be careful that in our enthusiasm to support redevelopment, we do not begin pulling at the threads that weave downtown together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The council will have its final say on South Garden Avenue on June 18.<\/p>\n

The saga unfolds as the Scientology-affiliated Cleveland Street Alliance pushes its vision for a $50 million family entertainment complex<\/a> about a half-mile north of Garden Avenue.<\/p>\n

The EVO Entertainment<\/a> project has yet to undergo a formal city review process, but developers said in a promotional video the seven-screen multiplex theater will soon be a \u201creality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another former Scientologist said she was unimpressed with the church\u2019s promises of a downtown renaissance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho needs that?\u201d she said about the multiplex. \u201cClearwater doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phoebe Martel is a reporter for WUSF, the bay area\u2019s NPR affiliate.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Church of Scientology\u2019s \u201cspiritual headquarters\u201d in the heart of downtown Clearwater may be one step closer to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-301522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}