The city issued a permit Thursday for Swisher International Inc. to build-out office space at a cost of $1.6 million at its cigar factory north of Downtown.
R.H. Tyson Construction Inc. is the contractor for the project, shown as 10,600 square feet on the third floor. Gresham Smith is the architect.
Swisher International makes cigars at its 459 E. 16th St. plant, in the Eastside area near Springfield.
A certificate of use application states the plant is 585,000 square feet. The JAXUSA.org website says the company has 500 area employees. JAXUSA Partnership is the JAX Chamber’s economic development division.
A Swisher representative has not responded to a request for comment.
The swisher.com site reports the company makes one of the world’s best-selling cigars, Swisher Sweets, as well as other cigars, cigarillos and smokeless tobacco products.
Swisher has been making tobacco products since 1861. It says its Swisher Sweets Originals and Diamonds are the No. 1 and No. 2 best-selling large cigars in the U.S.
The plant has been in Jacksonville since 1924.
Swisher International is based in Jacksonville and has additional manufacturing plants in Wheeling, West Virginia and Santiago, Dominican Republic.
It said the company has grown to be the largest, privately owned cigar manufacturer in the world.
“Domestically, Swisher is the market share leader in both large and little cigars, and our international division exports to over 90 countries,” says the site.