Clearwater moves forward with plans for Scientology project downtown

Tampa Bay Times/March 24, 2025

By Colbi Edmonds

Clearwater — Clearwater residents and City Council members engaged in an impassioned debate March 17 over the future of a stretch of downtown roadway.

Companies tied to the Church of Scientology have purchased at least 200 properties within Clearwater’s downtown since 2017, and the church is seeking to buy the Garden Avenue Road segment between Franklin and Court streets. It is proposing to use it as a performance hall and plaza.

Supporters of the project argued that parking spots on the roadway are difficult to use when there is heavy traffic toward the beach and said they welcome a development that taxpayers won’t have to fund. Opponents argued that the Church of Scientology already controls downtown, which is filled with vacant buildings and businesses.

The sale was tentatively approved by a 3-2 vote March 17 that one council member said was a straightforward decision.

“It’s, what, a 60-foot street with 20 parking spaces that nobody uses, let’s be real,” council member Ryan Cotton, who supported working with the church during his election campaign last year, said March 17.

The purchase and sale agreement will come back to the council during its March 31 work session, and if it proceeds, it will advance to the April 3 council meeting for a final decision.

The deal requires that most of the land be preserved as a green space and is tentatively set with a price tag of $1.375 million.

City Manager Jennifer Poirrier said the church has been planning for several years to build an event hall south of its Flag Building. It submitted its request to acquire the land on South Garden Avenue in December.

If given final approval, the church will have to substantially complete the project by the end of 2029. If it doesn’t finish by then, it can pay a nonrefundable $300,000 a year to the city to extend the contract. By the end of 2033, the deal would expire, and the city could withdraw from it. The ownership of the land won’t change until the church has permits and completes most of the project.

Several community members came to speak against the proposal.

Mark Bunker, an incumbent council member who was defeated last year by Cotton, has been a vocal opponent of the large presence of Scientology in Clearwater. He said the proposed L. Ron Hubbard Hall would be a “monument to the biggest humbug of the 20th century.”

“The downtown’s dead,” he said. “I urge you to hold onto the street. It may be the only chip you have left.”

Barbara Sorey-Love, a local advocate, spoke on behalf of the Clearwater African American Foundation. She said Garden Avenue was one of three major African American communities in the city.

She asked the council to hold off on approving the amendment and use the land to address this history and “honor and memorialize the African American presence that was once thriving on Garden Avenue.”

Mike Mastruserio, who also ran against Bunker and Cotton in last year’s council race, also spoke against the project.

“This vote may seem insignificant in the world’s view since it’s a small right of way,” he said. “The vote is about principle.”

But Cotton remained steadfast that the development was beneficial for taxpayers, all while residents shook their heads when he talked about the economic benefits of construction workers visiting downtown businesses.

“Quite frankly, I was surprised that Scientology even signed the deal that staff was able to get and procure, especially with the, what I will call, protections for taxpayers,” he said.

Council member Lina Teixeira and Mayor Bruce Rector voted against the request.

Teixeira said the agreement needs safeguards against further imbalance between the city and the church.

“What we’re talking about is a public street, one of which I use every day,” she said. “The privatization of this road goes against our very own downtown plan.”

Mike Mannino echoed Cotton’s opinion that the project benefits taxpayers. At one point, his comments were met with laughs from residents, and Rector had to gavel.

“It’s not being stolen from you,” he said, adding, “I continue to promise that every decision that I make on this dias will be in the — be in the best interest of the entirety of Clearwater and every resident. It will come to me through prayer and through our Lord Jesus Christ."

David Allbritton, who voted for the sale, said the revitalization of downtown has always been an uphill battle because of the church’s influence.

“Can we trust the church?” he said. “We either say ‘yes’ and move forward toward a possible vibrant future for our downtown or ‘no’ and continue the same path we’ve been on for 50 years.”