The old Marsh Supermarket on South Buffalo Street in Warsaw might have a new owner within a few days.

Faced with an opportunity to revive the vacant property or let it sit in hopes of future commercial development, the city’s board of zoning appeals on Tuesday approved a request by Cardinal Services to use the 60,000-square-foot building at the corner of South Buffalo Street and Winona Avenue.

Cardinal has a tentative agreement to purchase the property from an investment group with plans to relocate from its facilities off Winona Avenue, where the agency that serves people with intellectual of developmental disabilities has been since 1954.

On Tuesday, the BZA approved a use variance that would permit an institutional use of the property involving light industrial activity to be in a commercially zoned property. The vote was 3-1, with one abstention.

Cardinal Services Chief Executive Officer Randy Hall said they hope to finalize a purchase agreement within days that would allows the not-for-profit agency to begin renovations of the former grocery store  into a corporate headquarters that would allow for expanded services.

“This is huge,” Hall said.

He said renovations could begin next year and would take about a year to complete.

“Having this done – as soon as we find out about the deal – allows us to then get going right away,” Hall said.

The tentative plan would allow the agency to consolidate many of its services under one roof that are scattered in numerous buildings.

The move would also end a challenging set of choices Cardinal faced as it sought to expand. The agency’s board had been looking at buying land and building anew, buying and renovating an existing building or remodeling its existing main building at 504 N. Bay Drive, off Winona Avenue.

Renovating the existing building would be difficult  to accomplish while still serving its client, officials said.

KABS, the mass transit system that Cardinal oversees, would remain at its existing facility near the current Cardinal headquarters, Hall said.

For the zoning board, the decision appeared to be a tough choice as it grappled with the idea of giving up on what many viewed as a key commercial area on the city’s near-south side.

The regional supermarket chain, facing serious financial woes, vacated the building about 13 months after some 20 years after the store was constructed.

Prior to Marsh, the land was home to the old Murphy Medical Center.

Peking, a Chinese restaurant on the north end of the building, moved out earlier this year, leaving the entire structure empty.

Steve Snyder, an attorney for Cardinal, said the move would provide multiple benefits for the agency.

The new home would be a much better location and would allow the agency to grow, he said.

Officials intend to expand services as well as the number of people the agency serves.

The move would bring more than 100 Cardinal employees closer to the downtown business district, officials said.

The work training space, which is labeled “light industrial,” would represent about 25 percent of the entire building’s space, Hall said.

Cardinal provides subcontracting work for local companies. The work by clients is quiet and simple and does not involve any heavy machinery, and would not create any noise issues.

“On most days, the loudest noise is the radio,” Hall said.

Snyder predicted that if the property did find a renewed retail use, it would likely involve a collection of small shops. “It’s not going to be the draw that Marsh Supermarket was when it was there,” he said.

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Members of the BZA appeared somewhat conflicted about the idea of giving up on any future commercial development at the site and voted against a recommendation from the city to deny  the proposal from Cardinal.

The recommendation from the plan office struck a diplomatic tone, saying “There is no question Cardinal Services is doing vital work in this community,” but added that given the zoning, the city should continue “to maintain the availability of commercial space in this section of the city.”

Board members were somewhat divided. Jeff Johnson provided the lone vote of opposition, saying the plan might have a negative effect on the existing properties.

BZA President Tom Allen said that while retail would be preferable, efforts in that direction didn’t seem to have any “real traction.”

Board member Rick Keeven said the addition of more than 100 new employees to the immediate downtown area represented a “huge plus.”

“I see this as a big boost for businesses that are already there,” he said.

Tammy Dalton also supported the plan.

Another board member, Dan Smith, said he was undecided on the issue and chose to abstain.

Only one person spoke against the request. Tina Minnix-Phipps, owner of T’s Styling Studio, located northwest of the Marsh building on Winona Avenue, said she had continued to hope the land would be resurrected into some kind of retail use.

“It’s really hard to go up against these guys because you’re speaking about something we all feel passionate about,” she said after the meeting.

Snyder said support from the board would send a signal about permitting the agency to expand along a major thoroughfare, Ind. 15S.

“What better statement can the city make about its attitude than saying we’re proud of this facility and we’re happy to have it located on one of the main entrances to the city.”