On Thursday, we learned that we have no idea when the Church of Scientology's new Ideal Org at Sycamore and Fifth streets at the former Santa Ana Performing Arts and Event Center in downtown Santa Ana will open.
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This is a brief accounting summary of the project as I understand it:
1. Building purchase price: $6.2 million. April 2006.
2. Commission paid to Staubach: $160,000.
3. $175,000 paid to tenants to get them to move.
Add to this the lost of rental income for the last 4 years: $8,000 per month, 48 months = $384,000. Moreover, the lease would have been up by now, so the $175,000 tenant pay-off could have been saved. But hey! The renos had to start yesterday! “Pay him! Get him out!”
4. Now, the letter above says $1.3 million was raised in the last 6 months (more like in the last 5 years, since 2006).
5. “Management made an award of $1.2 million.”
6. So that leaves a mere $2.7 million more to be raised by LRH's birthday (March 2011). And that is if the damned target stays put for a while! I'm telling you, this target has had legs for the last 5 years!
7. But let's not forget the $3 million they will hopefully get from the sale of the existing building. Back in 2006 they had multiple offers for around $5 million and they turned them down.Do the math, and this 100 year old, asbestos-ridden, 42,000 sq. foot building is going to cost a total of $14.7 million ($350/sq. ft.).
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