TAMPA — With the help of millions of dollars of funding from the East Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency, a cherished landmark of Ybor City’s cigar-making heritage is on its way back to life. After decades of deterioration, the 115-year-old Sanchez y Haya Building is now entering the final stages of a comprehensive $18.5 million restoration.
On Nov. 25, CRA board members Charlie Miranda, Guido Maniscalco, and Naya Young, stood alongside community leaders and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, for a ceremonial groundbreaking celebrating the ongoing progress. The ceremony was hosted by the Newman family, whose cigar factory, J.C. Newman Cigar Co., sits directly across the street. The Newmans have been working the last several years toward restoring the building.
“My family and I are tremendously grateful for the city of Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency for supporting our project,” Drew Newman said. “It is a privilege for us to preserve this piece of Tampa’s history so that it can stand and serve our community for another 115 years.”
The East Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency is investing $5 million in the project, alongside a $600,000 grant from Hillsborough County and $2.3 million from the National Park Service. The CRA’s portion of funding will ensure the building’s historic preservation and restoration, and public space infrastructure improvements in the right-of-way (sidewalks, curbs, streetlights, alley, etc.).
Once a vibrant hub that served as a grocery store, distillery, coffee mill, knitting shop, and even a Prohibition-era speakeasy, the building’s final years were marked by decline. Known as the Chip-Inn, it became a notorious dive bar before shuttering altogether and sitting vacant for decades along Columbus Drive.
The restoration began in 2023 and has involved painstaking efforts to revive the building according to historic preservation best practices. Workers manually restored beams, ceilings, and columns, using more than 1,400 bags of concrete to patch the original frame.
With structural rehabilitation now complete, the project moves into its final phase: restoring the building’s original character and architectural details. It is expected to be complete in October.