I'm unsure if I am posting this correctly. There's no section for North Carolina under Org Patrol, and I'm not sure I'm starting one the right way. If this needs to be relocated, someone please do it or tell me how, and my apologies. ;p

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City background:

Charlotte, North Carolina is located in Mecklenburg County and is the 20th largest city in the USA by population. July 2005 estimated pop. was about 611,000.The population of the metropolitan area was 1,305,173 in the 2000 US Census; 2005 estimates place the population at 1,495,779.

Charlotte is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, having exploded over the last twenty-five years or so from a mid-size city of ~150,000 pop. to what it is now. This has, among other reasons, been largely due to a boom in the banking industry locally. A 60-story skyscraper in downtown Charlotte serves as the world headquarters for Bank of America. Several other major banks are HQ'd in Charlotte as well. Charlotte is the nation's second-largest banking center, behind New York City.

The following pictures were taken on Thursday, August 10, 2006 in a span of about 15 minutes at approximately 12 PM. Nothing on the property was touched. Nothing was left on the property. Nobody was approached or communicated with. No video or audio was recorded. No thetans were enturbulated. The photographs posted have all been cropped and reduced in image quality. The original uncropped photographs in 2592 x 1944 resolution still exist.

First, a map of Mecklenburg County, with the location of the Co$ mission marked. This Co$ mission labels itself, as you will see, as being "of Central Charlotte." The mission is actually located only 3 miles from the city's edge, and about 8 miles from anything that could be called "Central Charlotte:"



Next is a google satellite image that appears outdated, but has the relevant buildings in the area. Independence Blvd. is the busiest road in the state of North Carolina. Long the "main drag" of Charlotte, as the city has grown large it has evolved into a divided 6-lane freeway, with limited access through the majority of the city except at the fringes of town - such as the Co$ location. Labels added:



Taken from the spot in upper left indicated in satellite image. The property information of 6300 E. Independence Blvd. can be looked up as a matter of public record.: This area of Independence Blvd. has almost no foot traffic. There are no traffic-centered retail businesses close by. No restaurants, convenience stores, groceries, etc. A medium-sized shopping center about one-half mile to the northwest is mostly deserted. This region of the city, along with the west and northwest areas, is in economic decline.



From the Wallace road entry of the Steeplechase Apartments:



This automobile rental lot sits directly west of Co$:



Continued next post.

The next five shots are from across the street:











Continued next post.

This sign faces the parking lot for the optometry office:



This side faces the parking lot - seen from the rear, across Wallace Road:



Two car windows have been broken out here recently. Fresh drip spots indicate frequent use of all parking places. It appears the car rental business next door uses these spots, too:



Another look at the parking lot, from out front:



From the back of the building, along Wallace Road:



Continued next post.

Approaching the door from the Wallace Road side. All around the building, everything except the front corner and doorway is closed up tight with blinds:



These five panels allow the only viewing of the interior:



The next three shots give the best possible view inside. Image quality suffers due to shooting through the glass:







Continued next post.

Looks like Co$ is clearing Charlotte in only 8 hours, 15 minutes of operation per week! No weekend hours. Is this a one- or two-person operation?



This corner faces the door to Suite A, about 25 feet (8m) away. The light has been left on so that people can see the merchandise 24/7. The dates for the Freewinds Cruise events were all on Sundays - July 16th, 23rd, 30th and August 6, 2006 from 3-5 PM:







From the sidewalk in front:



Continued next post.

The lit "library" is easily visible from the waiting room of the optometry office. Smart kid pictured here, choosing Science over $cientology to treat his eye problems. They get on the internet younger and younger these days!



The view from the sidewalk along E. Independence Blvd.:



Again from the sidewalk along Independence, in front of the parking lot. Another optometry customer is seen arriving. Maybe she knows that kid?:



A close shot of the banner from the sidewalk directly in front:



Wide shot from the front sidewalk:



This mission seems rather sad for a city of this size. It's on a major highway on the outskirts of the city, in a declining area of town with no foot traffic whatsoever, and no "browsing" automobile traffic. The banner does, however, get many thousands of eyeballs on it every day.

The mission itself occupies 1/3 of a bland medical office building and looks to cover about 1500 square feet. It appears to have the main meeting area, 5 or 6 side rooms, and probably has a couple bathrooms and storage rooms.

The mission interior looks modestly-to-cheaply appointed except for the giant television. The decor looks like that of a dentist or doctor's office. The carpeting is thin and a bit dingy. The paint job looks old. In the uncropped, high resolution images, noticeable flaking of paint onto the carpet can be seen in the corners of the "library." The floor in the waiting-room-turned-meeting-area is fake wood flooring, and can be seen buckling at the juncture with the carpeting of the "library."

All in all, the Co$ presence in Charlotte is unimpressive.

The org up here isn't much better. Aside from a quasi-nice courtyard, it doesn't have much going for it other than a BBQ restaurant next door.

A question for those with a little more experience with the co$ than myself: Is it common for orgs to have broken windows and grafitti all over them and just look generally trashy?

Just a quick question:

When opening up a so called "mssion" is this all on the dime of the
person setting up a mission?

Do the people setting up the miission then have to pay for not only
the books and materials, but also rent, utilities, insurance, etc?

So if the mssion does well, the ORGS swoop in and take the cash
cows away (and then Flag swoops in and takes the ORGS public),
and then if the mssion folds, then the individual and not the church takes
the loss?

Is this correct?

That's correct, pb.

Yup.

A real motivating factor for a mission holder to ROCKET HIS STATS and BOOM HIS MISSION, huh?

LOL!!!

Scn would put these ads in their magazines to recruit new mission holders. It would hit the button of being like a pioneer in earlier times, charting new lands, blah, blah, blah. I seem to recall a starter package might run around 30K for materials. They would hit up regular public to contribute to a package. Another of the constant begging for money cycles a public had to endure.