Where is Scientology's next 'Ideal Org'? Some news from down south.

Dianetics turns 75 this year, and Scientology leader David Miscavige turns 65 in April. But the number that the church tends to tout these days is how many “Ideal Orgs” it has opened under Miscavige’s leadership since he started the program in 2003.

We have documented the grand openings of every single one of those milestones, and we can tell you that so far, Scientology has 67 Ideal Orgs (they would have 68, but the Moscow facility, which opened in 2011, was shut down by the government there).

You can check for yourself. If you go to Scientology’s main website and click on “Ideal Churches of Scientology,” all 67 are listed in the reverse order they were opened. Despite this, when Scientology puts out a press release about the program, it claims a higher number, 77, because they count some Advanced Orgs and other things. But it’s really 67, as the church’s own website confirms.

Anyway, it’s quite obvious that for Miscavige the Ideal Org program is just about the most important thing he has going, because it’s the main thing he has to convince his wealthy donors that Scientology is “expanding” — even though he’s just opening unwanted and empty buildings that aren’t resulting in additional membership. But as far as impressing the big whales, he no doubt considered it a huge victory when he was able to open four Ideal Orgs in quick succession last year after they had been held up for several years during the pandemic: Austin, Mexico City (its second), Chicago, and Paris.

But now, in such a big year with big anniversaries coming up, it seems like the Ideal Org program is stalled again.

At Scientology’s website, they’ve laid out their plan for where the remaining orgs will turn up to finish making the entire world “Ideal”…

UNITED STATES (6): Albuquerque, Battle Creek (Michigan), Boston, New Haven, Philadelphia, and St. Louis.

AFRICA (4): Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in South Africa; Bulawayo and Harare in Zimbabwe

CANADA (3): Toronto, Montréal, and Winnipeg

LATIN AMERICA (4): Buenos Aires, Guadalajara, San Juan, and Valencia (Venezuela)

EUROPE (4): Barcelona; and Brescia, Novara, and Pordenone in Italy

UNITED KINGDOM (3): Manchester, Plymouth, and Sunderland in England

We’ve seen zero real progress with any of the six projects in the US. Fundraising? Sure. It’s constant. But those buildings are either being replaced or they’re just rotting. And it’s the same in Canada.

The Puerto Rico project in San Juan has seemed to be the most aggressive in the last year or so, and we have seen references to a Central Files project there and also claims about construction. But we really don’t know if the building is actually getting done.

And now, out of nowhere, we are hearing that there’s some progress on a project even farther south, in Buenos Aires.

Back in 2016, Rod Keller reported for us that Scientology owned a decaying building in Buenos Aires for its Ideal Org, and predicted that it was in such bad shape it would probably be sold.

But last month, a journalist in Argentina created a bit of a stir when he claimed that the project long planned for Buenos Aires is finally under construction and will open this year.

Wondering if that was actually true, Tiempo Argentina looked into the situation, and pointed out what an amazing building Scientology had bought in 2011…

[The building dates] from the 1880s, and its auditorium has been used by everyone from Julio Argentino Roca to Juan Domingo Perón. It housed both the first secular school for women in the Italian community and a dance hall in the 1990s.

“It is one of the most representative monuments of the history and culture of Italians in the Argentine Republic,” according to the National Commission of Monuments, Sites and Historic Properties, which has had influence over the property since 2022, when it was declared a National Historic Monument.

The description of that commission details that in addition to the hall with “some of the best paintings of the late 19th century in the Argentine Republic” on the ceilings, another part corresponds to the Centennial period and was made by Virginio Colombo, a reference of art nouveau, who left his mark on the imposing façade and the halls.

So yeah, Scientology has a pretty nice building in Buenos Aires. But will it really be ready for a grand opening this year?

Tiempo Argentina interviewed the local Scientology executive director, Gustavo Libardi, and he said the opening was quite a way off yet…

“We have had it since 2011 and it was already destroyed. The work could not begin until 2023, because the church presented the final project in 2017 and it took five years to get permission, with a pandemic in the middle. We had to start the building again. Because the structure was in poor condition, it was not like painting a wall. It is impossible for it to be finished before December 2026.”

Ah well, Dave has to wait a while before he can pull the ribbon in Argentina.

As for the overall project to turn the world Ideal, we thought it might be fun to compare Scientology’s roster with an actual list of the 20 biggest cities in the world…

1. Tokyo (went Ideal in 2015)
2. Delhi
3. Shanghai
4. São Paulo
5. Mexico City (went Ideal in 2010 and in 2024)
6. Cairo
7. Mumbai
8. Beijing
9. Dhaka
10. Osaka
11. New York City (went Ideal in 2004)
12. Tehran
13. Karachi
14. Kolkata
15. Buenos Aires (under construction)
16. Chongqing
17. Istanbul
18. Manila
19. Lagos
20. Rio de Janeiro

And what the heck, let’s take a look at the situation in the US as well…

1. New York City (went Ideal in 2004)
2. Los Angeles (went Ideal in 2010)
3. Chicago (went Ideal in 2024)
4. Houston
5. Phoenix (went Ideal in 2012)
6. Philadelphia (still in fundraising stage)
7. San Antonio
8. San Diego (went Ideal in 2016)
9. Dallas (went Ideal in 2009)
10. Jacksonville
11. Austin (went Ideal in 2024)
12. Fort Worth
13. San Jose (‘Silicon Valley’ org in nearby Cupertino went Ideal in 2018)
14. Columbus (went Ideal in 2019)
15. Charlotte
16. Indianapolis
17. San Francisco (went Ideal in 2003)
18. Seattle (went Ideal in 2010)
19. Denver (went Ideal in 2012)
20. Oklahoma City

Isn’t it funny that Houston, the fourth largest city in the US, not only does not have an Ideal Org planned, but doesn’t have a regular org in the meantime, only a mission. Why, do you suppose, Scientology has done so poorly there?

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