The Marquette Apartments building on 17th Street and Wisconsin Avenue could become a suite-style residence hall for about 215 sophomores within the next two years, according to Jim McMahon, dean of the Office of Residence Life.

Mary Pat Pfeil, senior director of university communication, said in an e-mail that Marquette has not yet purchased the building but has a contracted agreement with the current owner to do so. McMahon said the building should be purchased by the end of the semester.

The building is currently set up for Section 8 housing, which means the federal government provides assistance to low-income renters and people with disabilities.

McMahon said the current owner of the building no longer wanted the apartments structured for Section 8 and has been talking to Marquette about selling the apartments.

McMahon said the university has been working with the current tenants to help them relocate since the beginning of the semester.

Pfeil said the current owner of the building notified tenants last winter that the apartments would not be available for rent after Feb. 1, 2008.

McMahon said the university has been using student volunteers, staff members and social workers to assist tenants with the relocation. He said there are about 35 tenants still living in the building and that he hopes to have them successfully relocated by the end of February at the latest.

He said the tenants have been pleased with the assistance given by the university. He said it would be ideal if the building could be ready for student housing as early as next fall, but his best guess is that it will not be ready until fall 2009.

Pfeil said in an e-mail that, "The building is in a strategic location for Marquette and offers the opportunity to provide housing for students while residence halls undergo renovations and upgrades."

She said such renovations and upgrades to existing residence halls include installing sprinkler systems as mandated by the state.

The Marquette Apartments building is also home to Ziggie's Restaurant, Sweeney's College Books and Dany's Foods.

McMahon said the businesses' leases with the current owner of the apartments will be honored until they expire. He said Marquette's interest is in the apartments, not the businesses.

He did not comment on what will happen to the establishments when their leases expire. He said he did not know when the businesses' leases expire.

Dan Boylan, a junior in the College of Engineering, said he thinks the university plans to shut down the businesses so it can set up its own "Marquette monopoly." He said he is worried that the businesses will be kicked off campus.

"It's ridiculous that the university thinks they can control stuff like that," Boylan said.

Chris Zilvitis, Marquette alumnus and store director at Sweeney's, said right now the store's focus is to stock books to prepare for the spring semester.

"We will worry about it when the lease expires," Zilvitis said.

Zilvitis said he did not know when Sweeney's lease will be up.