Experts Say St. Pete Needs Scientology

ST. PETERSBURG — As Scientology and its parishioners pour hundreds of millions of dollars into downtown Clearwater, developers say the science is clear: St. Pete needs Scientology.

“For years, people have focused almost exclusively on the horror stories surrounding Scientology,” development consultant Graham Whitmore said. “But nobody ever stops to ask what Scientology can do for them.”

Whitmore pointed to Clearwater’s growing collection of auditing centers, purification facilities, vitamin shops and vacant storefronts as evidence of what could be possible in St. Petersburg, describing it as the kind of amenity-rich downtown other cities can only dream of.

Despite those results, Whitmore said resistance to a larger Scientology presence remains strong in St. Pete, particularly among residents who claim to support many of the same goals.

“People in St. Pete say they want historic preservation, cleaner streets and a safer downtown,” he said. “Scientology has already given Clearwater those things. At some point you have to ask whether religious intolerance is getting in the way of progress.”

Critics have long raised concerns about Scientology’s expanding footprint in Clearwater, but Whitmore said those fears overlook what the organization has actually accomplished there.

“When LRH came to Clearwater, he saw a city in need of help,” Whitmore said. “Buildings burdened by engrams. Streets that needed clearing. Coachman Park was operating at dangerously low tone levels. So he set the course, and Scientologists rolled up their sleeves, applied the Tech and got to work.”

Whitmore said there is no reason St. Petersburg couldn’t benefit from the same approach.

“The 200 block is drowning in Dev-T. The Galley has been an ARC break waiting to happen for years. City Council is completely out-ethics, and don’t even get me started on the SPs,” Whitmore said. “These are fixable problems. We have the Tech.”

Whitmore also pointed to the overwhelmingly positive response on social media as evidence that Scientology-backed development would arrive with a built-in base of supporters, as announcements routinely draw thousands of enthusiastic comments from around the world.

“People dismiss those comments because they’re overwhelmingly coming from Scientologists,” Whitmore said. “But these are real people. They come to Flag for auditing. They buy vitamins. They pay for courses. Clearwater has built an entire economy around going Clear, and St. Pete isn’t getting a dime of it.”

Rather than waiting for Scientology to discover St. Pete on its own, Whitmore said the city should begin assembling several underutilized downtown blocks into a connected Scientology-backed corridor, eventually linking them through what he called a “Bridge to Total Redevelopment.”

He dismissed concerns that such an investment could eventually give Scientology an outsized presence in the city, arguing that transforming St. Petersburg is precisely the point.

“People keep asking whether Scientology could change St. Petersburg,” Whitmore said.

“I certainly hope so. KSW.”