A storefront that sat empty at one of Downtown's busiest corners for years has a new owner. Point Park University has closed on the former CVS building at the corner of Smithfield Street and Forbes Avenue, adding nearly a full city block to its campus footprint and handing Mayor Ed Gainey's successor, Mayor Corey O'Connor, a marquee win for his Main & Main initiative to fill Downtown's long-vacant storefronts.

The three-story, 42,440-square-foot building dates to 1956 and sits directly next to Point Park's Pittsburgh Playhouse, the university's performing arts venue that has already reshaped the block over the past decade. City officials say the Main & Main team identified the empty CVS as a priority site and approached the property owners, who turned out to be willing sellers. From there, the university worked with the O'Connor administration and the Urban Redevelopment Authority to get the deal done, closing this week and presenting it to the URA board at its regular meeting.

A Corridor Built Around Point Park

The purchase continues a pattern for Point Park, which has steadily expanded its Downtown footprint through the Pittsburgh Playhouse and new student housing in recent years. University leaders framed the CVS building as a natural next step given its location.

The university has not yet announced specific plans for the space, saying only that details will come at a later date. But the timing lines up with a bigger public investment on the same block: the city and its partners are set to break ground later this month on a full reconstruction of Smithfield Street, modernizing the roadway and sidewalks along the same stretch the building anchors.

Mayor O'Connor cast the deal as proof of concept for Main & Main, his effort to target Downtown's most visible vacant properties for redevelopment rather than letting them sit. "We've seen how Point Park University's investments have brought vibrancy to Downtown, from the Pittsburgh Playhouse to new housing and now the purchase of this cornerstone property," O'Connor said, adding that he hopes it signals more activity at other stubborn vacancies around the central business district.

The purchase was funded entirely through philanthropy, with the Allegheny Foundation and The Burke Foundations underwriting the acquisition. Point Park said it expects additional benefactors to be announced as plans for the building take shape. "So many foundations are committed to building a prosperous future for the Pittsburgh region, and we are grateful they understand and support the mission of Point Park and the importance of a thriving Downtown Pittsburgh," Brussalis said.

For a corner of Downtown that has struggled with vacancy since the pandemic reshaped how people use the central business district, the sale is a small but tangible signal: an anchor institution is betting on Smithfield Street, and the city is betting alongside it with new pavement and sidewalks to match.