UPDATE 1:46 p.m.: A new Facebook group titled Allstonians Against Scientology has already been formed.
There’s a hot new club coming to Allston: the Church of Scientology.
According to a report in today’s Boston Globe, the New England branch of the new religious movement has purchased “a large office complex near the Massachusetts Turnpike,” located at 212-214 Lincoln St. The cost was $15 million.
The proposed location for the church’s new HQ is on the Lower Allston side of the Mass Pike and not too far away from Everett Street’s Studio 52, a band rehearsal and practice space. This addition to the neighborhood, known for its live music venues, bars, and student, artist, and musician population, is an interesting one.
Here more from the Globe:
“It gives us a stable place where we can help people with our services while not having to be in the real estate business anymore,” Hall said.
Hall said the church has not settled on a move-in date yet, but would likely need time to design changes to the interior. It is currently leasing temporary space in Quincy. In November, the local Church of Scientology listed for sale the historic Hotel Alexandra in the South End, which it had bought in 2008 and promised to renovate into a new headquarters. The improvements never materialized, in part because the church struggled to sell its longtime former headquarters on Beacon Street in the Back Bay. The proceeds of that sale had been intended to fund the renovation of the Alexandra.
[snip]
Hall said the church would work with the Allston buildings’ existing tenants “to make them happy,” but could not say whether they would be allowed to remain. Hall said the church had borrowed some of the $15 million from the International Church of Scientology, which typically requires its regional chapters to be financially independent. The New England group will pay back the central church with the proceeds of the Alexandra sale, he said.
Here’s a look at the general area around 212-214 Lincoln St., via Google Maps…
