Point Park University has closed on the purchase of the long-vacant former CVS building at the corner of Smithfield Street and Forbes Avenue, adding nearly a full city block to its Downtown Pittsburgh footprint with foundation support. The university and the Urban Redevelopment Authority finalized the sale on September 9, and Point Park's board of directors is set to hear the announcement Thursday.
The $1.7 million deal was negotiated by Senior Vice President Ted Black and funded entirely through donations from the Allegheny Foundation and The Burke Foundations, according to The Globe. As reported by CBS Pittsburgh, Point Park President Chris W. Brussalis said the investment will allow the university to expand while helping keep Downtown strong and vibrant, and he added that the school expects other benefactors to step forward in the future.
A Vacant Storefront Next to a $60 Million Playhouse
The three-story building, constructed in 1956, offers more than 42,000 total square feet and once housed the Pittsburgh Beauty Academy on its upper floors, according to a LoopNet listing. The structure sits directly adjacent to Point Park's Pittsburgh Playhouse, a 90,000-square-foot production complex the university built along Forbes Avenue in 2018 following a $60 million development effort, per the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education.
Point Park officials project the building will open for university operations by fall 2028. The Globe's report notes officials have ruled out student housing for the space, while they are considering using its basement for Pittsburgh Playhouse storage. University leadership has not announced final architectural or academic plans for the building beyond that timeline.
City Streetscape Work and the Main & Main Push
The acquisition dovetails with Mayor Corey O'Connor's Main & Main initiative, with CBS Pittsburgh reporting that O'Connor said Point Park's investments have brought vibrancy to Downtown Pittsburgh. The mayor's façade grant program expanded in August, distributing $1.13 million across 77 small businesses and properties citywide after growing from an initial $500,000 pilot allocation, according to a City of Pittsburgh bulletin.
That same municipal strategy has extended to other neighborhoods: the city and the Urban Redevelopment Authority announced a separate $600,000 joint investment this month to renovate eight storefront facades along East Ohio Street in Deutschtown, combining public capital with private developer investment, WPXI reports.
Down on Smithfield Street itself, the City of Pittsburgh and its project partners are scheduled to break ground on September 22 on beautification upgrades for the corridor.
Filling a Retail Gap Left by Pharmacy Closures
The former CVS sits in an area that has undergone substantial private redevelopment.
The Smithfield Street purchase also lands amid Point Park's broader institutional growth. The university is separately pursuing state regulatory approval to open a satellite campus for its Conservatory of Performing Arts in Bradenton, Florida, as Hoodline reported in its coverage of the Florida plans.
For now, Point Park has said only that it will announce specific plans for the newly acquired building at a later date, leaving the fate of its top two floors — and the future of the block it now anchors alongside the Playhouse — an open question for Downtown Pittsburgh watchers.
