Super Power Building

Infobox religious building
building_name= Super Power Building


image_size= 200px
caption= Scientology's Super Power Building
location= Clearwater, Florida
geo=
religious_affiliation= Scientology
district=
consecration_year=
status=
leadership= Religious Technology Center
website= [http://clearwater-scientology.theflaglandbase.org/ New Church of Scientology Building in Clearwater, Florida]
architect=
architecture_type=
architecture_style=Mediterranean Revivalcite news |first = Deborah |last = O'Neill |title = Unmistakable presence |work = St. Petersburg Times |date = 2002-07-28|url = http://www.sptimes.com/2002/07/28/NorthPinellas/Unmistakable_presence.shtml]
facade_direction=
year_started= 1998
year_completed= Unfinished
construction_cost= USD$45,000,000 (as of May 2000)cite news |first = Thomas |last = Tobin |title = Scientology's building heads upward |work = St. Petersburg Times |date = 2000-05-29|url = http://www.sptimes.com/News/032900/NorthPinellas/Scientology_s_buildin.shtml]
capacity= 889 rooms, 42 bathrooms
length=
width=
width_nave=
height_max=
dome_quantity=
dome_height_outer=
dome_height_inner=
dome_dia_outer=
dome_dia_inner=
minaret_quantity=
minaret_height=
spire_quantity=
spire_height=
materials=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. [cite news |first = Peter |last = Wallsten |title = Scientologists call for builders |work = St. Petersburg Times |date = 1995-12-23] 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. 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.

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." ["Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary", p. 413. Bridge Publications, 1989]

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). 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. [cite news |first = Robert |last = Farley |title = Scientology nearly ready to unveil Super Power |work = St. Petersburg Times |date = 2006-06-06|url = http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/06/news_pf/Tampabay/Scientology_nearly_re.shtml]

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. [Lauri Webster, Executive Officer, Super Power Expansion Project. Promotional letter to Scientologists. 7 March 2002.]

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). ["Super Power Expansion Project Gift Form". Church of Scientology Religious Trust, 2006] 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. [cite news |first = Roger |last = Friedman |title = Caroline Kennedy's House Divided |work = FOXNews.com |date = 2008-02-05|url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,328370,00.html] ["FLAG Experience". Source Magazine, issue 193, Pages 36-37, September 2007] 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). ["People at Flag". Source Magazine, Issue 196, December 2007, pages 24-25] The project's July 2004 "Cornerstone Newsletter" lists 1,218 members contributing a total of just under $89 million. ["Cornerstone Newsletter", Church of Scientology Religious Trust, July 2004] ; by 2007, the total had risen to over $142 million. ["Cornerstone Newsletter", Church of Scientology Religious Trust, undated but published 2007] 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. ["Super Power Expansion Project Statuses and Benefits", Church of Scientology Religious Trust, 2007]

Project history

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. [cite news |first = Wayne |last = Garcia |title = Scientologists plan to build auditorium |work = St. Petersburg Times |date = 1993-05-18|url = http://www.lermanet2.com/scientologynews/sptimes/sptimes-spbuilding-051893.htm]

The architectural firm HOK was hired to deliver the project. 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, [cite news |first = Robert |last = Farley |title = Clearwater edifice sits empty, but why? |work = St. Petersburg Times |date = 2004-12-20|url = http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/768830161.html?MAC=09c4065dc26938d4a4fbb09ee828baa8&did=768830161&FMT=FT&FMTS=CITE:FT&dids=768830161:768830161:&date=Dec+20%2C+2004&author=ROBERT+FARLEY&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&printformat=&desc=Clearwater+edifice+sits+empty%2C+but+why%3F] 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, 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.cite news |first = Robert |last = Farley |title = Scientology expands at home |work = St. Petersburg Times |date = 2006-04-26|url = http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/1027569201.html?dids=1027569201:1027569201&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+26%2C+2006&author=ROBERT+FARLEY&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=1.A&desc=Scientology+expands+at+home]

The erratic progress of the project 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." The deadline was not met and daily fines of $250 — totalling over $40,000 by the end of 2006 — were levied against the Church.cite news |first = Robert |last = Farley |title = Still on church's drawing board |work = St. Petersburg Times |date = 2006-12-23|url = http://www.sptimes.com/2006/12/23/Tampabay/Still_on_church_s_dra.shtml]

A Church spokesman announced in April 2006 that the building would be completed by the end of 2007 [cite news |first = Robert |last = Farley |title = Plans for expansion |work = St. Petersburg Times |date = 2006-08-07|url = http://www.sptimes.com/2006/08/07/Pasco/Plans_for_expansion.shtml] 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. As of mid-December 2006 construction had not yet resumed [cite news |first = Robert |last = Farley |title = Scientology church seeks more units for hotel |work = St. Petersburg Times |date = 2006-12-17|url = http://www.sptimes.com/2006/12/17/Northpinellas/Scientology_church_se.shtml] and Church officials indicated that "mid 2008" was now the target date. The prolonged delay has adversely impacted other proposed developments that intended to capitalize on the promised increased economic activity from Scientologists visiting Clearwater. [cite news |first = Jane |last = Meinhardt |title = Scientology postponement creates trickle-down effect |work = Tampa Bay Business Journal |date = 2006-08-04|url = http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2006/08/07/story1.html]

References

External links

* [http://groundbreaking.scientology.org David Miscavige - Groundbreaking Ceremony Clearwater Florida]
* [http://clearwater-scientology.theflaglandbase.org/ New Church of Scientology Building in Clearwater, Florida]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=27.963561,-82.799336&spn=0.001928,0.005407 Google Maps - satellite image of Super Power Building]
* [http://www.solitarytrees.net/pickets/spb1.htm solitarytrees.net] , The Super Powers Webpage
* [http://www.holysmoke.org/cos/sp-building-prediction.htm Holysmoke.org: Predictions about the SP Building]
* [http://www.solitarytrees.net/pickets/spb3.htm Photo essay depicting the SP Building's delayed construction process]