The Church of Scientology of Portland is moving into a larger building at Third and Oak.
Community affairs director Gwen Barnard said the 12-story Stevens Building at 812 S.W. Washington Street, which the church bought in 2008, lacks the open space needed for a chapel and architects couldn't make it work.
The church purchased the 6-story Sherlock Building at 320 S.W. Oak Street for $6.4 million from the Urban Renaissance Group, an investment partnership based in Seattle. Office space on floors two through six were occupied by ZGF Architects until last summer.
Ruth's Chris Steak House is on the ground floor of the Sherlock. The building is about 69,000 square feet.
The church bought the Stevens Building in 2008 as a way to accommodate its growing membership. It is now offering the building at $4.95 million -- less than the $5.4 million purchase price.
The loss in real estate amount is "not much," said Barnard. "And we got such an incredible deal on that building to begin with."
The church, a nonprofit organization, currently uses space at 1208 S.W. 13th Avenue. Members never moved into the Stevens Building, although they have held some events there.
Both the Stevens and Sherlock buildings are on the National Historic Register.
The church was founded by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard and includes a number of celebrity adherents, including actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
The Portland church was founded in 1967. It has about 1,200 members in Oregon, Southern Washington and Idaho. The greater Portland area, including Vancouver, has about 600 members, Barnard said.
She said she expects renovations to start soon.
"I plan to invite groups such as the Interfaith Council of Greater Portland and other organizations we are part of to hold their meetings here."
