Point Park U. dreams big

Point Park University unveiled a 210-million dollar plan to grow its downtown . The plan includes several buildings along Wood Street from First Avenue to Forbes Avenue. The work will range from offices and classrooms to dorms and performance spaces. University President Paul Hennigan says it will be done with an eye toward retail on every first floor. The work will be spread over the next 8 years with the dorms and athletic facilities completed first with the relocated Pittsburgh Playhouse to follow. The university expects to expand enrolment from the current 36-hundred students to 43-hundred in 6 years including a nearly 2 thirds increase in on campus living. The school also plans to plant at least 150 trees and it hopes to turn the Blvd of the Allies into an actual Blvd by adding a center median.