Point Park University has unveiled a $210 million master plan that aims to transform the institution’s Downtown campus and city presence.
Key components of The Academic Village at Point Park University, developed in collaboration with
WTW Architects and
Comprehensive Facility Planners, include a new green student center and theater and redevelopment of Downtown’s Wood St. corridor.
A $71 million student center—which will sit along the Bvld. of the Allies between Wood and Smithfield Sts. and incorporate the former
YMCA property purchased by Point Park—will feature 60 suite-style student dorms, a 1,000-seat gymnasium, street-level retail, and a park. The eight-story center will also include a three-story atrium, activity center, food court, lounge, and coffee bar. Point Park’s goal is to transform the artery into a boulevard with new landscaped center islands, façade lighting and sidewalks.
“Our vision is to be one of America’s most dynamic private universities. We have the opportunity to create an urban campus that pulls everything together using Wood Street as a significant artery,” says Point Park’s president Paul Hennigan, who studied urban campus strategies while pursuing his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania. "Cutting-edge universities are paying attention to their environs and working with communities and cities.”
The Academic Village also calls for relocating
Pittsburgh Playhouse from Oakland to Forbes Ave. Downtown. The move will provide Point Park's Conservatory of Performance Arts with a state-of-the-art production and teaching space, and bring a new arts venue to Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. The $139 million venue will feature 250-seat thrust, 150-seat studio and a 500-seat proscenium theaters, as well as production and rehearsal spaces. The theater will also include a 12-story, 400-bed residence hall and 420 underground parking spaces.
To create a more pedestrian-friendly Wood St.—the central throughway connecting Point Park’s campus to Downtown destinations—the university will add new trees, banners, façade lighting, trash receptacles, and paving.
With 3,592 current students, Point Park, which needs to raise $101 million to support the project, expects to reach an enrollment of 4,300 by 2013.
Writer:
Jennifer BaronSources: Dr. Paul Hennigan, president, Point Park University
Image courtesy Point Park University