Argosy students replace tobacco rollers at old cigar factory

A three-story brick building where cigarmakers learned their trade a century ago is now a modern university campus where students work toward degrees in clinical psychology and other professions.

During Argosy University's open house last week, scores of prospective students toured the refurbished building, erected in 1903 as the Berriman Cigar Factory.

As senior director of admissions at the Tampa campus, Gail Neidinger has introduced many students to the 107-year-old building at 1403 N. Howard Ave. "When we bring a student in for an interview we take them on a tour, and they love it," she said.

The basement is a logical starting point for a run-through of one of Tampa's oldest brick buildings. "This was a cool place where they stored the tobacco," the large space where the bales of dried leaves were separated according to quality, Neidinger said. "We utilize every inch" of the building - the basement houses the library and student lounge. "This is all original brick," she said of the refurbished walls in the otherwise state-of-the-art Spanish Romanesque building.

The ground floor that accommodated the factory's cigar banders, quality control workers, loading dock laborers and factory administrators today houses classrooms and student services offices.

The upper floors, which cigarmakers once shared with raw-leaf selectors and workers who striped stems from the tobacco leaves, includes a large lecture room, classrooms, employee lounge and offices for administrators and faculty.

In addition to original brick and other refurbished portions of the structure, the property retains a 25,000-gallon water tower that once served the factory's plumbing needs. The factory's two bathrooms beneath the tower have been remodeled as conference rooms, complete with ergonomic chairs and remote-controlled projectors and viewing screens.

The factory built to employ 400 workers ultimately was expanded to accommodate 700. In 1911, Berriman sold the property to Morgan Cigar Factory for $11,000. Three years later the new owner spent $8,500 to expand the building.

Morgan's 1,000 workers produced more than 11 million cigars annually for what became one of the premiere cigar factories in Tampa, a one-industry town from 1886 to World War II.

Among a dwindling number of cigar factories in a city that once boasted 200, the building was designated in 2004 as a national and local historic landmark and renamed the Berriman-Morgan Cigar Factory.

That same year, engineer Nick Jamal bought the building from the city for $600,000. He began restoring what was original and replicating where necessary, studying old photographs to ensure authenticity.

As with most cigar factories, its length runs east to west so sunlight and breezes stream into north and south windows. North side windows are larger to facilitate air flow. Today, of course, the building is air-conditioned, but the oversize windows remain.

In April 2008 the rehabilitated building earned the City-County Planning Commission's prestigious Jan Abell Award.

The building had been vacant for about four decades until leased last fall by Argosy, a private university with 19 campuses in 13 states. The university's Tampa campus previously was on Himes Avenue with South University, owned by Argosy's parent company, Education Management, one of North America's largest providers of private post-secondary education.

"We started to outgrow our space and wanted to have our own identity," Neidinger said. The new campus Argosy has leased for 10 years is between downtown Tampa and the West Shore business district, and is near ramps for Interstate 275.

The Tampa campus employs 28 professors and 40 adjunct professors. The average age of the 650 students is 37, many being full-time workers pursuing a degree or advanced degree, Neidinger said. To cater to working students, many classes are offered at night and on weekends, she said.

Classes are capped at 20 students, though 10 to 12 is typical, Neidinger said. "Blended" classes have components that students may complete online, allowing them to attend on-campus classes only when needed. Accredited by the Higher Education Learning Commission, Argosy offers degree programs at various levels, including psychology, business, counseling, education and health sciences.

Erinne Lansing of Clearwater is a psychology major who transferred from the University of Tampa to Argosy in May 2009. She was "absolutely bowled over when we moved into the new building. It's a fabulous place," she said. "The important thing is the history behind it and what they've done with that building to turn it into what it is today."

The 44-year-old student, who works with opiate addicts, plans to enter Argosy's psychology doctorate program.

"I like the building, the atmosphere and the small class sizes," she said. "It's been an extremely enriching experience for me. I've been to school in a lot of places, and this absolutely the best."