A downtown office building leased to a federal immigration agency has been sold to Milwaukee School of Engineering, which plans to convert it to an academic use.

The two-story, 58,400-square-foot building, at 310 E. Knapp St., was sold to MSOE for $1,090,500, according to newly posted state real estate records.

Also, a new public hearing notice says MSOE plans to convert the building to an unspecified college use.

Potential academic uses are being considered, the college said, but those plans haven't yet been finalized.

“This strategic acquisition will support our academic mission, further strengthening our ability to delivera top-tier education and the development of the MSOE Mindset in our graduates,” said John Walz,MSOE president.

“As demand for our graduates grows, so too should our curricular and co-curricular offerings and campus infrastructure to meet their needs," Walz said, in a statement.

The Redevelopment Authority hearing is to consider a resolution authorizing a tax-exempt use for the property, which is located within the boundaries of the city's Park East Redevelopment Plan.

That resolution, which also requires Common Council approval, would waive the plan's prohibition against new tax-exempt land uses within the Park East area. The hearing is scheduled for the authority's March 16 board meeting.

The building is now leased to the Department of Homeland Security, which operates U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices there. An agency representative didn't immediately respond to questions about its relocation plans.

MSOE's campus includes two athletic facilities near the building, which is at the northeast corner of Knapp Street and Broadway.

Also at that corner are the university's Kern Center and the Pamela and Hermann Viets Field, as well as a small MSOE parking lot.

The building was sold by Sunset Investors Knapp LLC, a group led by real estate developer and investor Ken Breunig. It was built in 2000 and sold to Breunig's group in 2021 for $4.75 million, according to city assessment records.

Breunig graduated from MSOE with an associate of applied science in architectural and building construction engineering technology in 1978 and a bachelor’s degree in the same field in 1979.

He was awarded an honorary doctor of engineering from MSOE, serves on the college's Board of Regents and was inducted to MSOE’s Alumni Wall of Distinction in 2021.

MSOE has been doing other expansion projects, including its $3 million softball stadium under construction at North Milwaukee and East State Streets.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MSOE buys Milwaukee office building used by federal immigration agency