Is The WTS Building Beth Sarim 2 ? (page 4)

Mum

If ex-JW's want to walk in front with protest signs, will anyone be around to notice?

If they have to pay millions in child molestation lawsuits, can they pay it with interest off the profit they're making?

If they decide to stop being a religion because they don't want to pay out on lawsuits, can they split the money among the 8, and all be instant multi-millionaires?

It's impossible to know their motives, but they have to be getting something out of it, or they wouldn't do it. So saith Dr. Laura (not about the WT, but about other things that don't have a clear explanation).

Narcissistic Supply

Yes. The business model seems total whack. They are building monster infrastracture for what?? To adminstrate their world wide real estate laundering???? What product are they selling. Sounds like Enron . Where is the cash flow to support all these gold plated toilets???

JakeM2012

Narcissistic Supply said, " Yes. The business model seems total whack. They are building monster infrastracture for what?? To adminstrate their world wide real estate laundering???? What product are they selling. Sounds like Enron . Where is the cash flow to support all these gold plated toilets??? "

Interesting that ALL the brothers in the congregation that I used to go to when I told them about the new complex they just look at me and shake their heads back and forth, not up and down. I've had elders say when told about the property purchased, "Why is that necessary?", "What are they going to use that for?"

It seems that the local publishers are struggling to wrap their minds around this, because for most of the brothers the size of the projects that the society is having for themselves doesn't quite add up to the "no education policy", "pioneer, and be poor" policy, the "sacrifice all you've got for gods earthly organization policy", and the "listen, obey, and bend over" policy. It would be interesting to know if the GB have crossed the line of credibility with the flock by such a large project. Of course, they can come back with the "if we build it they will come" attitude, saying they are preparing for a great influx as world conditions worsen and God Calls people to the mountain of Jehovah. I'm expecting a great outflux personally, their gig is up.

It's kind of like the snake oil salesman of old. The first night everyone is buying thinking that the snake oil will cure anything, by the next night, the town has a posse ready to hang the snake oil salesman, and most of the time he is already down the road.

JakeM2012

"So you have eight offices for the GB, and yet they are building a complex for 800-1000 people to serve them?"

"Priceless"

besty

thanks jefft and jakeM2012 - interesting calcs.

My guesstimate was based as follows:

http://jwleaks.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/watchtower-headquarters-ny-warwick-final-environmental-impact-statement-june-6-2012-pdf.pdf

Page 111 indicates the proposed project would be buildings of 1,140,200 sq ft and parking garage 341,000 sq ft. (there are some pretty pictures of what the development will look like around page 90)

Divide sq ft by 10 to get sq m.

Turner & Townsend International Construction Cost Survey 2012 gives the following per internal sq m estimates for the US on page 37 (2011):

Residential private medium density Apartments $1600

Aged care/affordable units $1550

Offices – business park $1800

Hotel Three-star travellers $1575

Hotel Five-star luxury $2600

Hotel Resort style $2300

Multistorey carpark – above ground $700

Multistorey carpark – below ground $1315

$2k for building and $1k for carparks seemed to be a fair guess allowing for quite a bit of free labor and cost overruns.

Therefore $228m +$34m = $250m give or take.

joe134cd

Gee I find this interesting. Thanks everyone.

Nathan Natas

When I read the address in Warwick, NY something clicked.

"1 Kings Drive... 1 Kings Drive??? 1 Kings is a book in the Old Testment. I wonder if there might be a 'coded message' for us here? Let's take a look."

So I went over to BibleGateway.com to investigate what I'll call "The Watchtower Code"... hey, if it worked for Tom Hanks, maybe it will work for me too... and here is what I found:

1 Kings 1

Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

1 Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. 2 Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. 3 So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.

Yes,yes, yes! Folks we are reading about ERECTILE DISFUNCTION! How apropos is this as a foreshadowing of The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society at this time in the Divine Dispensation?

"But the King knew her not!"

Expect the WTB&TS to be appearing in TV ads for Cialis sometime soon!

I will leave it for another to comment on the fact that the fair damsel brought to "The King" (WTB&TS) was a SHUNamite!

metatron

Wow, kinda provides a backdrop for these ugly old dudes at Bethel scoring vastly younger sisters ( or is it 'sistas'?) as wives.

metatron

Nathan Natas

Precisely, Metatron, precisely!

Jim_TX

There has been a lot of good discussion on this topic.

My personal thoughts on this...

I agree with the poster that mentioned that they are selling while the property values are high.

I also think that the buildings that they are occupying in Brooklyn are very dated. (Aren't some close to 100 years old? - the buildings... not the people...) Electrical, Plumbing, etc. Any renovation of the existing structures would be very costly (well - free labor), and that they are not able to address some issues like insulation, etc. without going to major materials costs.

For that reason, it is easier to start over putting up new structures, using modern materials.

I also think that they will be able to make their personal 'space'-es much larger in the process without raising too many eyebrows. It will become their 'retirement' housing. They will be able to live out the rest of their existence in nice accomodations. Not Pope-worthy, perhaps, but adequate enough.

There are other benefits too... perhaps the ability to 'isolate' the newbie bethelites better... I'm not familiar with the new location (or the old), but I would think that there would be less opportunity for someone to go out and see the city.

It's all about money and control.

Just my .02 worth... not even enough to get a cup of coffee.

Regards,

Jim TX

Is The WTS Building Beth Sarim 2 ?

1 Kings 1

"But the King knew her not!"

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