Philadelphia suing Church of Scientology over $8m boarded up art-deco skyscraper that was meant to be a 'cathedral'

Mail, UK/December 4, 2013

Sara Malm

Philadelphia is suing the Church of Scientology after the religious organisation left a 15-storey construction in the city empty for six years.

The church bought the Cunningham Piano skyscraper in 2007 using millions in donations from its members under the premise of building a cathedral.

However, despite high-flying plans of building a chapel, a bookstore and even an office for its deceased leader, L. Ron Hubbard, the windows of the Scientology building remain boarded up.

The Cunningham Piano building was purchased by the church for $7.85million, all of which had been donated by Scientologists.

Now, after six years of little to no progress apart from the plywood covering doors and windows, the city has had enough.

Philadelphia's Department of Licenses & Inspections is taking the church to court, which could result in daily fines of several hundred dollars.

A spokesperson for the department told Philadelphia Daily News the Church of Scientology lack construction permits, and have been violating the city’s ‘doors-and-windows’ ordinance for nearly a year.

Should the Department of Licenses & Inspections be successful in their court order, the Church of Scientology could be liable for $300-per-day fines for each boarded up window and door.

On its website the religious organisation describes the building which they renamed ‘The Freedom Org’ as ‘a shining example of the religion that can and does secure Total Freedom for all’.

The latest update on the project came two years ago when the Church of Scientology told local papers they were planning on starting renovations in 2012, to open in spring 2013.

‘I don't understand what's going on there,’ president of the Center City District Paul Levy told the Philadelphia Daily News this week.

‘It's obviously a free country, and they bought the building, but here we are six years later, and they've done nothing. It's not only not contributing to the street and acting to the detriment to the city, it's also not a tax revenue.’

This is not the first time the controversial church, whose members include Tom Cruise and John Travolta, have purchased land and property and struggled to finish their project.

IN 2006, Scientology bought a 50,800 sq. ft. building in Pasadena which sat empty until renovations began in 2010.

Only last month, thousands of Scientologists gathered in Clearwater, Florida for the opening of the $145million 'cathedral' which had been in construction for nearly 15 years.

The group broke ground on the Mediterranean Revival-style Flag Building in 1998, but stopped work after finishing the shell.

For three years, the group ceased construction on the project until the city started imposing $250-a-day fines for code violations.

Scientology defectors have explained that the building's slow construction is due to church leaders, who have allegedly used the project as a fundraising cash cow.

An analysis by the Tampa Bay Times discovered that the church had raised $145million for the building, much higher than the $100million it was estimated to cost.

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