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Clearwater City and Church of Scientology find common goal in downtown development.
Fox 13 Tampa Bay: City and church find common goal in downtown development
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/...urch-find-common-goal-in-downtown-development
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Excerpt:
Fox 13 Tampa Bay: City and church find common goal in downtown development
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/...urch-find-common-goal-in-downtown-development
Video at link.
Excerpt:
CLEARWATER (FOX 13) -
A pair of studies, considered in tandem, might outline a path to peace in the historically contentious relations between City of Clearwater government and the Church of Scientology, and stimulate downtown redevelopment in the process.
An affinity among Scientology visitors for shopping and dining plays a surprising role in that possibility.
Over the past three decades, the church has built its spiritual headquarters in downtown Clearwater. Tuesday, it provided FOX 13 News with a new economic impact study conducted by Florida State University. That study places the value of direct and indirect Scientology- related spending at $916 million annually, and direct and indirect Scientology-related employment at 7,500 jobs.
In 2013, more than 9,000 Scientologists visited Clearwater for classes, spending about $85 million. That is where the shopping and dining comes into play. According to the study, those visitors spent $16 million on dining and drinking, and nearly $20 million on shopping.
Given the relatively sparse offerings in the downtown area, Mayor George Cretekos confirms retail recruitment is an area church officials want to pursue.
"Our goals are going to be the same," Cretekos said. "We want a vibrant downtown....the church wants to have a downtown for its parishioners."
Clearwater's economic development director confirmed retail recruitment is a task the church is welcome to tackle.
In a prepared statement, the Church of Scientology said: "We are looking forward to working with the City and other key stakeholders to create a downtown that serves the needs of the entire community."
The statement was written last week after an outside panel called the Urban Land Institute published its final report on development strategies for downtown Clearwater. That report stressed the need for building trust and partnerships between the city and the church.