Tampa eye care nonprofit closes on property for new $16M center

A global nonprofit that serves as the bridge between eye tissue donors and recipients has officially closed on the Ybor City property that will become home to a new pediatric vision care center.

Tampa’s Lions World Vision Institute announced Thursday it can begin construction on its new $16 million Vision Health Center, a 30,000-square-foot facility across the street from its iconic brick Ybor City location.

The organization, founded in 1969, is one of the largest combined eye bank, tissue recovery and ocular research centers in the world, according to its website. Its new Vision Health Center, scheduled to open in March 2027, is expected to serve more than 20,000 children and adolescents each year by providing free vision screenings and access to prescription glasses for those in need. 

"This new Vision Health Center will be life-changing for the one in four school-aged children affected by vision impairment and especially for the one in five who cannot afford the care and services needed to correct it," Jason Woody, President and CEO of Lions World Vision Institute, says in the release.

Hillsborough County property records show that LWVI closed on the property at 2112 E. 3rd Ave. in mid February for $300,000. 

With financing through the Federal New Markets Tax Credit program, LWVI's Vision Health Center will offer comprehensive vision services, including screenings, diagnostics, treatment and community-based programs for children and their families. The aim is to provide essential eye and vision care services to low-income families who would otherwise go without, the release says. 

The Florida Community Loan Fund provided $14 million in Federal NMTCs for LWVI's Vision Health Center expansion. Investor Truist Bank provided an additional $2 million in Federal NMTCs as well as funding, according to the release.

The new Vision Health Center is an expansion of LWVI's current Youth Vision Program and Mobile Vision Clinics, which currently serves students in public schools throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties, the release says. LWVI’s Mobile Vision Clinic offers a range of services including free vision screenings, eye examinations and glasses for children ages 5 to 17.