Cardinal Services broke ground for its upcoming addition at and renovation of its campus at 504 N. Bay Drive, Warsaw, on Tuesday, May 17. From left: Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer, Cardinal Chief Development Officer Vickie Lootens, local Easterseals CEO Donna Elbrecht, Cardinal client Amy, Cardinal Board of Directors member and Co-Chair of Cardinal’s Ability Campaign for the project Jennifer Lancaster, Cardinal client Sandy, Co-Chair of the Ability Campaign Jim Lancaster, Cardinal client Mark, Cardinal Board of Directors member Penny Brown, Cardinal client Tim and Cardinal Executive Director Matt Boren. InkFreeNews photos by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Cardinal Services’ campus is getting a revamp.

The social services organization broke ground for a renovation of and addition at its campus in Warsaw on Tuesday, May 17.

The project is to add 3,000 square feet to Cardinal’s main building at 504 N. Bay Drive.

“It’s going to be the northeast corner of the building is where the primary addition comes, but there’s going to be a lot of work throughout the building, on just recreating and renovating the space to really make it better meet the needs of individuals that we’re serving today,” said Cardinal Executive Director Matt Boren.

He added that the whole campus’ exterior is going to be refinished, so buildings will look consistent.

“Inside there will be a lot of new programming space, a wellness area where we can (have) limitless workout equipment, also dance and yoga … a new RedBird Art Studio, a culinary arts kitchen, a tech lab, a lot of different space really specifically designed to meet the needs of our younger customers that are looking for different things,” Boren said.

Boren said preparation for the project had started in 2017, but it was waylaid by several factors including the COVID-19 pandemic. Cardinal leaders then thought about expanding space at the old Marsh grocery store building along Buffalo Street.

“That just grew to be too expensive at the end of the day to feel like we were being good stewards of our resources,” explained Boren of why plans shifted away from Marsh. “Our board made the decision to refocus on this campus.”

He said the Ability Campaign to raise $8 million for the project has reached the 85% mark. To donate, people may stop by 504 N. Bay Drive and drop off a check or give online via clicking the button at cardinalservices.org/get-involved/donate.

If they are giving online, people should mention that their gift is for the project.

“The dream is really that this becomes a community center and this becomes a place where people in our community that have disabilities and those that don’t can get together and join forces and work on things that they have common interest on,” said Boren. “The RedBird Art Studio was our inspiration. It taught us that we can create an identity for people that they’re an artist first and then they can connect with other artists.”

“And so the hope is that all these other things we’re working on, whether it’s culinary arts, whether it’s the wellness center and getting involved in yoga and karate, whatever that is, they can do that with other people in our community and build relationships and build support,” added Boren.

“We’re really excited about being able to bring experts from our community that know how to do these things and do these things well and to do trainings, and so it’s really an open invitation to the community whether you love cooking, whether you love yoga, whether you love learning about crochet or hand-stitching, whatever it is, you can come in and do that with other people and they can share an interest,” continued Boren.

Work on the project is planned to formally start in July, with completion estimated in two years. Boren noted that operations will have to be shifted around at the campus as the project is completed.

Before the ground-breaking Tuesday, a small ceremony was held with several people speaking, including Boren.

“Seeing all of you here and how many people came out to support Cardinal, it’s just overwhelming and inspiring,” he said in part. “And really the reason why we’re here to begin with is because we have a community like this that believes in the work that we do, believes in our purpose and stands with us and behind us in that.”

He thanked the community for continuing to believe in and help with the project even though it was sidelined for a number of years.

Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer also spoke.

“Cardinal … has been a fabric of our community for many years and I know there’s been some tough times the last few years for everybody, and Matt and the board picked themselves up by the bootstraps and said ‘We’ve got to get this done,’ and here we stand today to get this done,” he said.

“Again this is my neighborhood, so they’ve been great neighbors and now they’re going to add on and up the value of the neighborhood and boy, is it going to be nice for us, so I’m really, really excited that this is going to all continue right here on this campus. It’s very exciting to me,” continued Thallemer. “The city has worked well with Cardinal and will continue to again knowing how important this is for our community.”

Vickie Lootens, who’s the chief development officer for Cardinal, also spoke.

“For us today, the word ‘ground-breaking’ stands for far more than literally the breaking of ground,” she said. “It stands for more opportunities for the people we serve in our communities. It stands for the ground-breaking generosity of our amazing supporters and communities who invest in the critical work we do every day.”

“Without the help of all of our partners, supporters and collaborators, this project would not be possible,” she added. “Our purpose is to lead the way to 100% equity, inclusion and access for people with disabilities, families and communities.”

Boren speaks at the ground-breaking ceremony.

Thallemer talks during the event.

Lootens speaks.

A look at the crowd at the event.

Kids from Head Start at Lincoln Elementary School in Warsaw performed at the ceremony. Cardinal oversees the Head Start program locally.

Artwork from Cardinal’s RedBird Art Studio was on display at Tuesday’s event. Cardinal clients created the art. If anyone wishes to purchase artwork, they may do so by stopping by Cardinal’s main building from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday.