Most Italian immigrants and the businesses they started have long left Little Italy, but the Italian American Museum is expanding its footprint downtown to make sure they are not forgotten. Led by its president, Joseph Scelsa, the museum in February closed on a deal to sell its three contiguous 3-story buildings on Grand Street to Nexus Building Development Group and Oved Group, which are developing a 25,000-square-foot residential building.

The museum will own and occupy a condominium on the ground floor. The institution, which opened on Grand Street in 2008, recently closed its doors to undergo an expansion to 6,500 square feet, more than four times its previous size.