By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — It looks like the city of Warsaw has a potential buyer for the Marsh building on South Buffalo Street.
Warsaw Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner asked the city’s Redevelopment Commission on Monday for permission to work with a group that wants to possibly convert the building into what was described as an antique artisan mall.
Skinner told officials they want to prepare an agreement that would allow the group, Warsaw Antique Mall, to look into the idea more carefully.
“The purchase price would be $1 million and we would enter into a five-year financing agreement,” Skinner said.
The property has been vacant since 2017 and the city purchased it in 2023 after Cardinal Services acquired the land and then decided against using it for expansion plans.
The city paid $1.25 million to buy the property.
In a separate update, Skinner also told the redevelopment commission that the city is working with a developer who has a plan to revive the old Buffalo Street mixed-use development near Center Lake.
The original proposal was pitched about a half dozen years ago but never came to fruition bcause the developer, Dave Matthews, walked away from it (and a related plan to build various condos and homes) with little or no communications with the city.
The land is close to Center Lake where the old parks office once stood.
The development would entail 60,000 to 75,0000 square feet that would include 60-80 apartments and 4,000 to 6,000 square feet of commercial retail space.
He said the project cost would be around $15 million to $20 million.
Skinner said other nearby properties could be part of the project.
“We own a few. Matthews owns a few,” Skinner. “We still need to untangle ourselves from Matthews and the rest of those properties.”
