Xref: elastic alt.religion.scientology:110 Path: elastic!lethe!abyss!news2.compulink.com!news.compulink.com!news1.toronto.fonorola.net!news1.toronto.istar.net!news.toronto.istar.net!istar.net!news1.vancouver.istar.net!news.vancouver.istar.net!van-bc!uniserve!news.sol.net!news.inc.net!trellis.wwnet.com!nntp.coast.net!howland.reston.ans.net!surfnet.nl!sun4nl!xs4all!utopia.hacktic.nl!not-for-mail From: nobody@REPLAY.COM (Anonymous) Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology Subject: Florida Journal: Clearwater urged to exploit edge Date: 7 Mar 1996 18:42:11 +0100 Organization: Replay and Company UnLimited Lines: 136 Sender: replay@utopia.hacktic.nl Message-ID: <4hn75j$808@utopia.hacktic.nl> NNTP-Posting-Host: utopia.hacktic.nl XComm: Replay may or may not approve of the content of this posting XComm: Report misuse of this automated service to DJ 6 Mar 1996 Florida Journal: Clearwater urged to exploit edge By Robert Johnson, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal Copyright 1996 Dow Jones & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Downtowns don't get much better than Clearwater's, sitting atop a grassy bluff that rises behind pleasure-boat marinas on a small bay, with rows of beach hotels and the shimmering Gulf of Mexico beyond. But the facade of comfortable calm conceals troubled depths. Clearwater hasn't attracted a new employer of significance in more than a decade, and for just about every small business that has moved in, another has left. A new farmers' market represents the city's top yield from economic recruitment. A recently built convention center lures bridge tournaments, square dances and little else. "I had higher expectations for Clearwater," says Bob Clark, a first-term city commissioner who owns a printing shop. "We haven't been nearly aggressive enough. Deals have to be cut with private developers, but we don't want to give away the city." For years, the city government, instead of marketing Clearwater, has been buying much of it up in anticipation of selling to developers who haven't materialized. Now, the city is its own largest landowner, and in the view of many local businesspeople, it crimps the bluff's commercial potential by keeping the faded library and Chamber of Commerce buildings on prime lots there. "The bluff is one of the greatest pieces of real estate in all of Florida -- and the most underutilized," says David Stone, president of Citizens Bank & Trust and vice chairman of the Downtown Development Board. The bluff, how it is used and Clearwater's overall economy have become hot issues as a March 12 election for three of the five seats on the city commission nears. "I would really like to see some change," says Elise Winters, an attorney who chairs the development board. Two years ago, some commissioners pushed unsuccessfully to dissolve the development board in a squabble over the board's suggestion that the city provide matching grants for renovation of downtown storefronts, among other things. The commission eventually approved the grants, but it continues to draw criticism for some of its own initiatives. Prominent among them is the $13 million Harborview Center for conventions. "It's ill-conceived from the get-go," says the development board's Mr. Stone. "The first thing a convention booker wants to know is where people will stay. Well, the nearest big hotel is on the beach two miles away." The only mainland lodgings the development board has to offer in its current guidebook, "479 Great Reasons to do Business in Downtown Clearwater," is the 48-room Travelodge. Even Mayor Rita Garvey, who occupies one of the three commission seats up for election, concedes that the panel has to accept some responsibility for Clearwater's lack of progress in attracting investors to downtown. She relies on the stock explanation: The large training operation of the controversial Church of Scientology. "They're dominating downtown," says Ms. Garvey. "At certain hours, they just pour en masse in and out of buildings for training and meals." The Los Angeles-based, interdenominational order often described as a cult started moving into downtown Clearwater 20 years ago. The church's legions of full-time workers and visiting students numbering around 3,000 much of the time, as well as its military-style uniforms and penchant for privacy, offend many outsiders. Yet the church can take credit for beautiful renovations of several historic buildings it uses as offices, classrooms and dormitories. It also displays admirable public spirit by organizing trash cleanups, Christmas celebrations and the like without aggressively proselyting. And members' downtown presence at night is widely considered a check on crime. Ms. Garvey's electoral opponent, real-estate broker James Warner, says, "Scientology has been a whipping boy long enough for a city that's going nowhere." Mr. Warner, who isn't a Scientologist, adds: "At least that church is bringing in thousands of employees and visitors that spend millions of dollars. That's more than the city government has been able to say for a long time." Indeed, the day when the Scientologists might have damaged Clearwater's image with prospective employers is long gone, says Saul Grohs, a corporate-site specialist in Florham Park, N.J., who assesses cities in Florida and other states. "To tell you the truth," he says, "I had forgotten they're there. But that wouldn't keep any of my clients away, unless maybe they're selling religious books." Local businesspeople suggest that the city stop fretting about the church and start focusing on the common economic good. Among other things, they think the city should press the county on completing the Pinellas Trail highway, which is intended to link St. Petersburg to the south with Tarpon Springs to the north. They also think the city should push for more state and federal dollars to replenish the eroding shoreline of the Sand Key beach section and build a bridge over Clearwater Bay to connect downtown and the beach without having to cause several interruptions daily to let boats pass underneath. Most of all, the city needs to privatize its share of the bluff with a hotel, restaurants, shops and other businesses that would produce property taxes and jobs. It shouldn't be that hard, says Alan Bomstein, a local building contractor. "You don't see many downtown waterfronts like this -- without rusting shipyards and grunting longshoremen," he says. "It's gorgeous." --- Clearwater at a Glance The city's population is growing faster than surrounding Pinellas County '90 pop. '95 pop. % gain Clearwater 98,784 108,454 9.8% Pinellas County 861,176 918,591 6.7% The city is more affluent than its bigger neighbors, as measured by households with annual incomes of more than $35,000 Households % of local City above $35,000 households Clearwater 56,286 37% St. Petersburg 44,295 31% Tampa 37,449 28% The Business Scene Major Economic Sources -- Tourism on Clearwater Beach -- Providing services for retired residents -- Church of Scientology education facilities Potential Economic Growth Area -- Convention business plus: City's downtown convention center is only a year old minus: Only hotel in walking distance is 48-room Travelodge Sources: City of Clearwater; University of Florida Bureau of Economics and Business Research