Today, the Church of Scientology acquired the KCET-TV studio in Los Angeles, former home of PBS. In honor of the church's new property, The Daily reporter Hunter Walker took a look at Scientology's various other real estate purchases, including an 185,000-square-foot International Dissemination and Distribution Center in Los Angeles and the construction of 23 churches and counting over the last six years. By his calculation, the church, which according to the lastest national religious survey boasts 25,000 American members, has "purchased at least 484 square feet of real estate for each believer as of 2010."

Cult deprogrammer and consultant Rick Ross told The Daily that the expansion is likely "a P.R. game. It's kind of like their Field of Dreams'--if you build it then they will come. In reality, they seem to have a serious problem stuffing these buildings, a lot of them are empty."

[...]

This week, I examined Scientology’s construction spree for The Daily and found a leading expert who suggested that many of these buildings may be empty husks purchased by a group struggling to keep up appearances in the face of dwindling membership.

Though the Chuch has a fortune that may be worth $1 billion, Rick Ross, a consultant and cult deprogrammer who has worked extensively with Scientology, said, “Scientology will frequently grossly exaggerate without any objective proof the number of members the church includes.” Ross believes the Church’s construction spree is a ”P.R. game” to recruit new members and project an image of power. “In reality, they seem to have a serious problem staffing these buildings, a lot of them are empty … they’re impressive though,” Ross said.

In 2007, Scientology claimed to have 10 million followers around the world with 3.5 million here in the U.S. However, according to a major national religious survey, the group had just 25,000 American members in 2008 down from 55,000 in 2001. If that figure is accurate, it means the group had purchased at least 484 square feet of real estate for each believer as of 2010.

The Church of Scientology has not responded to multiple requests to comment on my stories.

"This new studio is a turnkey setup that provides the church the means to move into broadcasting for both the religion and its many social betterment and humanitarian programs," the Scientology statement said. "Utilizing the studio's existing satellite uplink, we will be able to provide our churches and affiliated groups globally with instantaneous access to a wealth of content, all in high definition, ranging from the church's six annual international events to new educational and introductory films and even video updates for the public informational displays located in churches around the world."

Are they planning to have a television station? Is there any way to find out if they are also purchasing an FCC license? Is Tom Cruise involved in this? I suspect this purchase is not just about owning empty real estate.

How difficult/easy will it be to protest at this location?

UPDATE: KCET Says No Damage to Historic Elements at Former Sunset Boulevard Site

The pubcaster issued a statement Thursday morning explaining the activity at 4401 Sunset Blvd., now owned by the Church of Scientology.

Thursday morning KCET issued the accompanying statement regarding what some had called "demolition" at its former location at 4401 West Sunset location.

It reads in part:

In 1978, the cultural heritage board of the city of Los Angeles unanimously declared portions of the KCET lot site as historic cultural monument #198. This is the only such designation that's been given to the property.

That designation included the two large soundstages, the "Little Theater" and offices connected to and adjacent to those studios. The bricks in question were not installed until 20 years later and have never been part of any historic designation.

As seller...we are removing all signage that belongs to KCET, and we will pay tribute to those whose generosity had been acknowledged on our studio property at our new location.

Independent television station KCET-TV will move next year from its longtime Sunset Boulevard home to a new building on Studio Row in Burbank.

KCET will create a new studio at the Pointe, a 14-story office tower completed in 2009 on an Alameda Avenue site that used to be part of the NBC campus. Station officials told employees Monday that KCET has agreed to the move.

The former public television station sold its historic Sunset Boulevard studio to the Church of Scientology in April. The price wasn't disclosed; county records show that the property carried an assessed value of $14.1 million. The church also bought the studio's equipment for an undisclosed price.

The Sunset facility in Los Feliz was too large and too outmoded for the station's future, KCET President Al Jerome said.

"We had a very valuable piece of real estate that we felt made a lot of sense to monetize, because it was not an operationally efficient place to do business today in the changing media landscape," Jerome said in an interview.

"You've got employees spread around several buildings. The spatial configurations were not right. We just felt really that we wanted to get into a brand-new facility that has open architecture, that allows for a more collaborative and collegial work environment."

KCET will downsize from approximately 105,000 square feet of studio and office space in Los Feliz to more than 55,000 square feet in the Burbank location, Jerome said. The new location will include two production studios and nearly all new equipment.


....more in article link....

Independent television station KCET-TV will move next year from its longtime Sunset Boulevard home to a new building on Studio Row in Burbank.

KCET will create a new studio at the Pointe, a 14-story office tower completed in 2009 on an Alameda Avenue site that used to be part of the NBC campus. Station officials told employees Monday that KCET has agreed to the move.

The former public television station sold its historic Sunset Boulevard studio to the Church of Scientology in April. The church paid $42 million for the 4.5-acre property, according to real estate information provider DataQuick. According to a company history, KCET paid nearly $800,000 for the former movie lot in 1970.
[The church also bought the studio's equipment for an undisclosed price.]

Several prospective buyers had been looking at the property but couldn't compete with the Church of Scientology.

"The price was well above what others were willing to pay," said Jeff Worthe, who pursued the property on behalf of Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where he is a trustee. Representatives of the church did not respond to requests for comment.

The Sunset facility in Los Feliz was too large and too outmoded for the station's future, KCET President Al Jerome said.

"We had a very valuable piece of real estate that we felt made a lot of sense to monetize, because it was not an operationally efficient place to do business today in the changing media landscape," Jerome said in an interview.

You've got employees spread around several buildings. The spatial configurations were not right. We just felt really that we wanted to get into a brand-new facility that has open architecture that allows for a more collaborative and collegial work environment."

KCET will downsize from about 105,000 square feet of studio and office space in Los Feliz to more than 55,000 square feet in the Burbank location, Jerome said. The new location will include two production studios and nearly all new equipment.


...more in article link...

Today's the day that television station KCET has to be out of its historic former movie studio on Sunset Boulevard. Everyone has been told to vacate by 3 p.m., I'm told — though many are no doubt already on site at the new digs in Burbank. Bittersweet day for some, I expect. I ask everybody I run into from KCET whether they are happy about the move, and the feedback I get is about equally split. The lot was sold last year to the Church of Scientology, which will continue to operate it as a video studio (with some pretty nice digital equipment that's being left behind.)


Mark Lacter has a story in the April issue of Los Angeles magazine analyzing how the station's switch to independence from PBS is going. His conclusion: "KCET isn't thriving — it's merely hanging on." The station says the movie to Burbank will help trim costs. Plus there are the proceeds of about $29 million from the sale of the Sunset Boulevard property.

Anyway, for the record here'a a short clip of video I shot in the back passageways, in the control room and on the Tavis Smiley set a few years ago. Often called the "longest continuously-producing studio in Hollywood," the acreage was first used for movies in 1912. Some of the brick buildings were erected in 1920 when the lot was run by actor Charles Ray. Monogram Pictures and Allied Artists were among the production companies that later called the site home. The studio is City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument number 198. The address of the old KCET studio is 4401 Sunset Boulevard.

[...continues in article link...]

Starting Monday, KCET will be working out of The Pointe in Burbank, sharing the new LEED Gold-certified building with other industry tenants, including DC Comics and Warner Bros.

The move comes after the independent television station’s break from Public Broadcasting Station in January 2011. KCET’s landmark lot on Sunset Boulevard was sold to Church of Scientology last year.

“We will always remember our rich history of pioneering productions and special events on the Sunset lot, but we’re eager to begin a different chapter and offer viewers more exciting stories about issues that affect their communities,” Al Jerome, president and chief executive officer for KCET, said in a statement Friday.

KCET will take over two floors of The Point, or around 55,000 square feet. The building is across the street from NBC and nearby Disney and ABC studios. The space was completely empty prior to the move and was designed by Los Angeles-based architecture firm Gensler.

Though a lot of equipment was left in the Sunset Boulevard lot as part of the sale, the television station will have access to high-tech production studios that include a green screen, which will save KCET from building costly production sets.

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KCET comes to town

-- Tiffany Kelly, Times Community News