TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Lions Eye Institute Plans Expansion

ADVERTISEMENT

By JANIS D. FROELICH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 7, 2008

YBOR CITY - When the Lions Eye Institute for Transplant & Research bought the former F. Lozano & Sons cigar factory in 2005, there were no plans to expand beyond the three-story structure.

After all, the factory, at 1410 N. 21st St., offered 30,000 square feet, and executive director Jason Woody thought the world's largest eye bank would be set for space for a while.

Less than three years later, the institute is expanding again.

A 12,000-square-foot attached building will house an ocular research center. The groundbreaking, including remarks by Mayor Pam Iorio, was held Tuesday.

The new building will match the old one's red bricks, and the structure will be built on a portion of the parking lot bordering 21st Street. The nonprofit institute employs 50 and hopes to add 15 to 20 in the ocular facility, Woody said.

"We came to realize we needed a place where tissue research could be conducted," he said.

The institute collects thousands of corneas annually in Florida for use in transplants for people with diabetes and other conditions. The goal is to become the largest tissue research facility in the world, Woody said.

That a scientific lab is behind the F. Lozano entranceway may come as a surprise to some, said Vince Pardo, manager of the Ybor City Development Corp.

"But we in Ybor City appreciate what's happening here," he said.

Pardo remembers when the cigar factory, built in 1907, housed a casket company in the 1950s.

"Not only is it encouraging when these great buildings from the past are restored, but the Lions have also included meeting room space so the public isn't cut off from coming here," he said.

Iorio said, "The Lions did a wonderful job on the original restoration. So I know the extension will be fine, too. They care about the history of this area."

Catherine Walton, vice chairwoman of the Lions Eye Institute Foundation's board of directors, said the eye institute has been a service organization for 90 years. Helen Keller asked the group in 1925 to be "knights of the blind."

"And that's what the Lions have done," Walton said. "We really want to eradicate unnecessary blindness."

Reporter Janis D. Froelich can be reached at (813) 835-2104 or jfroelich@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT