Super Power Building

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Super Power Building

Scientology's Super Power Building
Basic information
Location Clearwater, Florida
Religious affiliation Scientology
Leadership Religious Technology Center
Website New Church of Scientology Building in Clearwater, Florida
Architectural description
Architectural style Mediterranean Revival[1]
Year completed Unfinished
Construction cost USD$45,000,000 (as of May 2000)[2]
Specifications
Capacity 889 rooms, 42 bathrooms

The Super Power Building is an edifice in Clearwater, Florida that will be the Church of Scientology's largest property in the city when completed. The huge high-rise complex, which occupies an entire block at 215 S Fort Harrison Ave, will be topped by a 15-story tower surmounted with a bronze Scientology cross that will be visible over a wide area of Clearwater. The building has been under construction since 1998 but has yet to be finished.

At 170,000 square feet (16,000 m²), the building will be the largest commercial edifice in Clearwater and was originally budgeted to cost $24 million.[3] According to the building plans, the Super Power Building will feature a "grand lobby" lined with sculptures depicting aspects of Scientology; theaters for training and introductory films; a museum honoring the Sea Org; and a separate museum honoring Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard. The sixth floor will house an indoor running track for Scientologists undergoing the controversial Purification Rundown detoxification program.[2] The Mediterranean Revival-style building will also contain a bookstore, library and hundreds of course and study rooms, with a total of 889 rooms, 447 windows, 42 bathrooms plus a 1,140-seat dining room and two kitchens. A 124-foot (38 m) bridge connects the Super Power Building to the Scientology-owned Fort Harrison Hotel on the other side of S Fort Harrison Ave.[1]

Contents

[edit] Purpose and funding

The purpose of the Super Power Building is to provide a dedicated center for delivering the Super Power Rundown, a high-level Scientology training course that has not yet been released. The Super Power Rundown was described by Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, as:

"A super fantastic, but confidential series of rundowns that can be done on anybody whether Dn [Dianetics] Clear or not that puts the person into fantastic shape unleashing Super Power of a thetan. This means that puts Scientologists into a new realm of ability enabling them to create a new world. It puts world Clearing within reach of the future. This is a parallel rundown to Power in Saint Hills which is taken by the Dn Clear. It consists of 12 separate high power rundowns which are brand new and enter realms of the tech never before approached. Power is still very much in use on the Grade Chart but is for those who didn't go Clear on Dn." [4]

Special training equipment for delivering Super Power courses
Special training equipment for delivering Super Power courses[5]

According to the Church of Scientology, the building will contain specially developed equipment which "expand[s] on technology developed by NASA to train astronauts" designed to exercise and enhance an individual's 57 "perceptics" (senses).[5] These machines will include such things as an antigravity simulator, a gyroscope-like apparatus that spins a person around while blindfolded to improve perception of compass direction, and a video screen that moves forward and backward while flashing images to hone a viewer's ability to identify subliminal messages.[6]

The building is being funded through a "Super Power Expansion Project". A fundraising letter sent to Scientologists in March 2002 described the purpose of the project:

With the world in such a state of degradation and dismay, the only hope to reverse the dwindling spiral on Earth is to speed the release of Super Power.

As you know, the 12 Rundowns of Super Power were designed to handle the barriers to this planet's Clearing. By releasing this technology, we will unleash the Super Power of every being who completes these rundowns and they will built the New Civilization so vitally needed.

The rapid completion of the funding and construction of the new building, guarantees this Cleared Earth.[7]

Contributions to the project are on a sliding scale with titles awarded according to the level of donations. These range from the starting level, "Flag Supporter" (a $1,000 donation), to the mid-ranking "Master Builder of Merit" ($500,000) and so on up to the "Legion of OT Meritorious" ($7,500,000).[8] According to a Scientology magazine published in September 2007, Scientologist actress Kirstie Alley is ranked as a "Founding Member" of the project, indicating a $250,000 donation.[9][10] The actress Catherine Bell has also contributed and is ranked as a "Double Cornerstone Member" (twice the normal "cornerstone" donation of $35,000 - i.e. $70,000). [11] The project's July 2004 "Cornerstone Newsletter" lists 1,218 members contributing a total of just under $89 million.[12]; by 2007, the total had risen to over $142 million.[13] Scientologists contributing to the project are given a number of benefits depending on the level of their contributions, including "gold validation pins" and "Super Power rings", "exclusive membership to the Key Contributor Lounge in the new Mecca building created specially for these stellar contributors", and fee reductions or priority status for Super Power courses.[14]

[edit] Project history

Northwest corner view of the Super Power Building
Northwest corner view of the Super Power Building

Plans for the Super Power Building project were unveiled in 1993 by the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology Religious Trust. The site was formerly occupied by the Gray Moss Inn, a turn-of-the-century building across the street from the Scientology-owned Fort Harrison Hotel. The inn had stood empty since being damaged in a 1989 arson fire and the Church of Scientology acquired the land in 1991 after it had been purchased by local property developer Terence J. McCarthy, the owner of T.J.M. Holding and president of Graymoss, Inc. [15]

The architectural firm HOK was hired to deliver the project.[1] Construction officially began in November 1998 and was slated for completion by late 2003. However, work was reported to have fallen well behind schedule and stopped in 2003. The cost of construction was reported to have more than doubled due to rises in the price of steel and labor, [16] with the Church repeatedly issuing fundraising requests to its members. The revised cost was not disclosed but in 2000 it was reported that the cost had risen from the initial estimate of $24 million to $45 million,[2] and a doubling of this figure would put the total cost at over $90 million. The Church also stated that the building had undergone two major redesigns due to its requirement to "keep pace with the quality of construction at other new facilities". In mid-February 2006, the Church hired Gensler, the world's largest architectural firm, to take over the project.[17]

The erratic progress of the project caused prompted criticisms from local government officials and residents. In 2005, the city's code enforcement board ordered the exterior, including landscaping and sidewalks, to be completed by early summer. Frank Hibbard, the Mayor of Clearwater, noted that "the building had become an eyesore, surrounded by dirt and a chain-link fence." [17] The deadline was not met and daily fines of $250 — totalling over $40,000 by the end of 2006 — were levied against the Church.[18]

A Church spokesman announced in April 2006 that the building would be completed by the end of 2007 [19] but this date has slipped repeatedly. Press reports at the time indicated that the Church was aiming to complete the building by March 2008. In November 2006 the city of Clearwater served the Church with a development order to complete the exterior of the building.[18] As of mid-December 2006 construction had not yet resumed [20] and Church officials indicated that "mid 2008" was now the target date.[18] The prolonged delay has adversely impacted other proposed developments that intended to capitalize on the promised increased economic activity from Scientologists visiting Clearwater.[21]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c O'Neill, Deborah. "Unmistakable presence", St. Petersburg Times, 2002-07-28. 
  2. ^ a b c Tobin, Thomas. "Scientology's building heads upward", St. Petersburg Times, 2000-05-29. 
  3. ^ Wallsten, Peter. "Scientologists call for builders", St. Petersburg Times, 1995-12-23. 
  4. ^ Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary, p. 413. Bridge Publications, 1989
  5. ^ a b "An entirely new universe - ideal in every detail", Source magazine, issue 194, September 2007, pp. 40-41. According to the Scientology Handbook, the "perceptics" are: "Time, Sight; Taste, Color, Depth; Solidity (barriers); Relative sizes (external); Sound; Pitch; Tone; Volume; Rhythm; Smell; Touch (pressure, friction, heat or cold and oiliness); Personal emotion; Endocrine states; Awareness of awareness; Personal size; Organic sensation (including hunger); Heartbeat; Blood circulation; Cellular and bacterial position; Gravitic (self and other weights); Motion of self; Motion (exterior); Body position; Joint position; Internal temperature; External temperature; Balance; Muscular tension; Saline content of self (body); Fields/magnetic; Time track motion; Physical energy (personal weariness, etc.); Self-determinism; Moisture (self); Sound direction; Emotional state of other organs; Personal position on the tone scale; Affinity (self and others); Communication (self and others); Reality (self and others); Emotional state of groups; Compass direction; Level of consciousness; Pain; Perception of conclusions (past and present); Perception of computation (past and present); Perception of imagination (past and present); Perception of having perceived (past and present); Awareness of not knowing; Awareness of importance, unimportance; Awareness of others; Awareness of location and placement (masses, spaces and location itself); Perception of appetite; Kinesthesia"
  6. ^ Farley, Robert. "Scientology nearly ready to unveil Super Power", St. Petersburg Times, 2006-06-06. 
  7. ^ Lauri Webster, Executive Officer, Super Power Expansion Project. Promotional letter to Scientologists. 7 March 2002.
  8. ^ "Super Power Expansion Project Gift Form". Church of Scientology Religious Trust, 2006
  9. ^ Friedman, Roger. "Caroline Kennedy's House Divided", FOXNews.com, 2008-02-05. 
  10. ^ "FLAG Experience". Source Magazine, issue 193, Pages 36-37, September 2007
  11. ^ "People at Flag". Source Magazine, Issue 196, December 2007, pages 24-25
  12. ^ "Cornerstone Newsletter", Church of Scientology Religious Trust, July 2004
  13. ^ "Cornerstone Newsletter", Church of Scientology Religious Trust, undated but published 2007
  14. ^ "Super Power Expansion Project Statuses and Benefits", Church of Scientology Religious Trust, 2007
  15. ^ Garcia, Wayne. "Scientologists plan to build auditorium", St. Petersburg Times, 1993-05-18. 
  16. ^ Farley, Robert. "Clearwater edifice sits empty, but why?", St. Petersburg Times, 2004-12-20. 
  17. ^ a b Farley, Robert. "Scientology expands at home", St. Petersburg Times, 2006-04-26. 
  18. ^ a b c Farley, Robert. "Still on church's drawing board", St. Petersburg Times, 2006-12-23. 
  19. ^ Farley, Robert. "Plans for expansion", St. Petersburg Times, 2006-08-07. 
  20. ^ Farley, Robert. "Scientology church seeks more units for hotel", St. Petersburg Times, 2006-12-17. 
  21. ^ Meinhardt, Jane. "Scientology postponement creates trickle-down effect", Tampa Bay Business Journal, 2006-08-04. 

[edit] External links

Scientology Portal