Bosses at Ipswich Council hope to complete the purchase of the former Grimwades store on the Cornhill over the next few months - and are confident of finding a new tenant.
But that depends on its current owners not fighting a Compulsory Purchase Order that they are planning to apply for next week.
The council's executive is expected to make the formal application for a CPO next week after repeated attempts to find a new use for the building failed.
The borough has tried to buy the building before - but the price put on it by the owners was too high to be considered.
Ipswich Council leader Neil MacDonald also said that prospective tenants for the building had been quoted rents that were unrealistically high.
Another problem is that the Dubai-based owners would not consider any tenant that wanted to sell alcohol from the building - a major issue as its most likely future use would be as a pub or restaurant.
Mr MacDonald said: "Realistically that would be the best use for the building and other businesses in the area agree that by creating a vibrant area in the Cornhill you would encourage more people to come out there.
"I know the Three Wise Monkeys in Lloyds Avenue and the Botantist would like to see a similar place there because it would help create a vibrant entertainment area."
The hope is that the owners will want to avoid the cost and delay of going to court to settle the price of a CPO.
When the borough sought a CPO to buy buildings on the Waterfront in Ipswich, the vendors chose to take the money offered and the deal was completed within a few months.
Mr MacDonald said there was little chance of Grimwades becoming a department store over several floors again - but there had been interest in turning the first floor into office space and the top floor into flats.
But whatever happened there would need to be a lot of work on the building to bring it up to 21st Century standards.
Accessibility rules had changed significantly since it was in regular use.
Bringing Grimwades back into use is likely to take some time even if the current owners accept the council's offer and do not challenge the CPO in court - but Mr MacDonald said there had already been interest from restaurant operators in the building.
But he did say this was the only building in the town centre that was currently being considered for a CPO: "I know there are other empty buildings, but this is in such an important place in the town it needs to be brought back into use somehow."
He said creating a vibrant town centre was top of his priorities - and those of chief executive Helen Pluck.
"There are a number of priorities that we have as a council, but making the town centre a vibrant and attractive place to visit is right at the top of these - we know that is what people want to see," he said.
Richard Grimwade opened his first shop on the Cornhill in 1844 - but it was his son John that developed it into the building that generations of Ipswich shoppers knew.
The store passed through several generations of the family before it finally closed in 1996 which was seen as the end of an Ipswich institution.
The building continued to be owned by the Grimwade family at this time and it was occupied by Clinton Cards until 2012 when that company went through a period of administration and closed its Cornhill store.
Since then the store was sold by the family and it has been largely empty except for occasional use by short-term fashion stores in the run-up to Christmas.
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