The 130-year-old Sentinel Building in downtown Milwaukee — once slated for conversion from offices to apartments — has been sold to a Florida investor.
The 10-story, 30,800-square-foot building at 225 E. Mason St. was sold for $1.1 million to an affiliate of Florida-based
MAQ Group. The building had an asking price of $2 million, according to documents from
Colliers, which marketed the property.
MAQ Group, which owns properties across the United States, as well as in Canada and the Middle East, has the building listed for sale on its website as a "hotel and apartment investment opportunity."
In 2021, Illinois-based Sentinel Suites LLC sold the building for $2.1 million to a group of investors who planned to convert the building to 33 apartments. However, earlier this year, the building was sold back to Sentinel Suites LLC after the group's conversion plans didn't pan out.
The site originally featured a three-story building occupied by The Milwaukee Sentinel newspaper beginning in 1864. As the newspaper grew in circulation, the current 10-story Sentinel Building was constructed to replace the smaller building in 1893. The newspaper continued to operate at the building until 1930.
In 2018, the building was sold for $1.5 million and was about 50% occupied. In 2021, when the building sold for possible conversion, it was about 30% occupied.
The buyer and seller of the building did not respond for requests for comment.
