The possible demolition of Tallahassee's last and largest cigar factory is stirring controversy. The long-vacant 1907 Wahnish Cigar Factory on St. Francis Street is due to be replaced with student apartments, as reported in the Tallahassee Democrat over the weekend. But local Realtor Martin Chavez had been following the issue well before the story broke.
"There's going to be about 70-ish units. It's going to be 4-stories with a parking garage and encompasses almost 2 acres so it's not just this building that's going to be removed. It actually stretches further down St. Francis Street."
Chavez says, as envisioned in the development application that went before local growth managers in January, nothing of the old cigar factory will remain.
"From what it looks like, they're going to be removing everything that's there and just starting from the ground up. So there's nothing I see that will be retained that's there now. So it's just going to be completely cleared and start anew."
But the building has one possible saving grace: a 2018 designation as a National Historic Landmark. Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey told WFSU over the weekend that status could be used to convince the developer to incorporate the building into an amended site plan. How that could happen, though, remains uncertain.
