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BUYER: Dunn&Co. (Corina Holdings Inc.), Tampa
SELLER: The Cigar Factory
PROPERTY: Corina Cigar Factory (202 S. 22nd St. and 2208 Stuart St., Tampa)
PRICE: $1.3 million
PREVIOUS PRICES: $281,000, November 1997 and $72,000, December 2003
HISTORIC INFO: Built in 1893 by the Vicente Guerra Cigar Co. and the Tampa-Palmetto Beach Railroad Line

For the past 12 years, Dunn&Co., a Tampa-based advertising agency, has been steadily taking over the Corina Cigar Factory building near Desoto Park.

Since the firm began in 2003, it has grown to 40 employees. As it has grown, it has increased its lease in the 122-year-old building, until it eventually rented 70% of the 36,000-square-foot building.

“When you're renting that much space you start to wonder if you're to the point where the rent is greater than you would be paying on a mortgage,” says Troy Dunn, president of the agency. “It wasn't even necessarily just about our presence there, but that we had grown so much and were projected to keep growing. Where else could we go, and were we going to be able to afford it.”

So, Dunn&Co. recently purchased the building for $1.3 million.

But prior to committing to buying the building, Dunn shopped the market to see what else was available. Given his interest in the historical architectural character of the cigar factory buildings, he started looking at other similar buildings in the area.

“I looked at some that have been closed for 40 years,” Dunn says. “But they would have needed a lot of work on the plumbing and electric. Ultimately you would have had to start from scratch.”

At the same time, the Corina building owner Kent Larson was feeling more pressure to sell. His son-in-law, Tom Haslemann, had taken over operating Larson's business, Deluxe Plastic Card Co. Inc., for 2.5 years and was commuting weekly to the business from his home in Fort Myers.

“I'm also turning 71 this month, and it is about time I retired,” Larson says.

So with the help of Greg O'Dell, business development officer at Wells Fargo, and a small business loan for $1.26 million, Dunn was able to purchase the historic building.

While Dunn declined to mention the specifics, he says the mortgage payment is less than he was paying in rent, and with taxes and upkeep, the costs are nearly the same.

Since closing on the purchase, Dunn is moving forward with plans for some minor interior renovations, including expanding the production department space, which handles photography and video work for clients, and creating a workout area and green roof.

Eventually, the firm will expand to take over the entire building, Dunn says, but for now it leases space to nine other tenants, including Larson's Deluxe Plastic Card Co. Inc., which will be relocating.

The architecture and craftsmanship of an old, but well-built historic building is worth the occasional termite troubles or brick dust, Dunn says.

“When you step into a building like this, it always feel like you've stepped back in time,” he says. “It's never going to be perfectly clean like a new building. But there's a sense of belonging. A spirit that makes you want to get here early and stay late for a lot more than just work.”