What has long been an empty, grey eyesore sitting on Wood Street for over two years — and was at one point promised to become one of several new flagship residential developments Downtown — is on track to become university property.

Point Park University announced it signed a letter of intent to acquire the former YWCA building on Nov. 18. Plans for the new space include student housing built on top of the original structure, retail spaces, a student union and gym space.

And Point Park officials said they hope to have construction on the former YWCA finished as soon as the fall 2029 semester.

According to President Chris Brussalis, signing the letter of intent is one of the first steps in acquiring the building. The university purchased the note of the property, taking over the mortgage from Detroit-based City Club Apartments (CCA).

Brussalis said the university had been keeping tabs on the development ever since CCA announced it in 2021.

Brussalis noted that he and Ted Black, head of institutional planning and strategy, had the old YWCA on their radar ever since Mandarin Gourmet, the building’s final last tenant, closed in 2023.

Additionally, Brussalis said the plans for the building will somewhat mirror what CCA had envisioned, which includes residential housing being built on top of the existing structure and the current roof of the building becoming a large patio space, along with the gymnasium space underground being renovated and reused.

The former YWCA does have a pool much like the Student Center, which was once a YMCA until the late 2000s. That pool is now the Professional Career Readiness Center.

Brussalis said the space in the old YWCA would be reused, but likely would not be a pool.

“We probably wouldn’t put a pool in, but we’d probably utilize that space for something that comes out of the architectural work,” Brussalis said. “Maybe it would be nice theater space, [or] stage space for events.”

As for the planned retail spaces on the first floor of the building, Brussalis said he is open to ideas on what it can be used for, such as a bookstore or a restaurant run by students and others interested in the space, though he said he’d rather give the business space to someone in the campus community.

Mandarin Gourmet, which closed in Sept. 2023 and was the last tenant to leave the building, has been mourned by students, staff and faculty ever since its closure. Brussalis couldn’t comment on specifics, but he did say he would be open to another Chinese restaurant opening in the space.

“I do miss Mandarin Gourmet,” Brussalis said.

With the first step of acquiring the property complete, the university is in the process of getting the former YWCA inspected and assessed in what Brussalis called a “due diligence period.”

The due diligence period lasts 90 days to check the condition of the building and any engineering needs. After this, the university will finish acquiring the property via foreclosure and then can call the former YWCA their’s, according to Brussalis.

Then, the university plans to hire an architect to check the feasibility of what is planned for the building, with feedback from the campus community.

Lou Corsaro, head of public relations at Point Park, said the university community will play a substantial role in deciding how the building will be used and what may go into the new space.

“It’s fun to speculate what will be in the building, but there will be an input process,” Corsaro said. “There’s going to be a thoughtful way of going about this to figure out what’s best in the space.”

Considering the former YWCA is slated to become partially student housing, Brussalis said the retail spaces will be heavily monitored and the residential part will utilize ID scanners like every other housing option does.

He said it’s too early to call if turnstiles will be used for security in the building like they are in the Student Center, Lawrence Hall and West Penn Hall.

Brussalis said his visions for the space, such as a student union, were created with the help of him going to several other universities and seeing what each one had in its respective student union space.

“They’ll have three to five food vendors, little smaller countertop type of things,” Brussalis said. “Something like that would serve the university community, and also the community at large, because now there’s no quick service, fast food in Downtown Pittsburgh.”

While plans for the building are still ultimately in the air and up to what an architect deems feasible, Brussalis envisions a three-story atrium, an additional dining hall on the second floor, student activities on the third floor and conference as well as event space on the fourth floor, which he noted as something the university does not currently have.

Brussalis couldn’t comment on specifics as to who the student housing part of the building would cater to, though he did suggest it may be suited for upperclassmen.

“As you move up, you have opportunities for better housing, right?” Brussalis said. “We would probably want to fill Lawrence Hall and Thayer [Hall] with freshmen, and then this would provide infrastructure for upperclassmen.

“But who’s to say? We just need to talk to the community.”

The Globe previously reported on the university applying for $5.5 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) funding to help rehab the former YWCA, which Brussalis said is just one layer of building a stack of capital to acquire, build on and operate the building.

State funding for the project is supposed to cover the entire cost of renovation, such as ADA-complaint upgrades and demolition.

Brussalis touted the new development as the university’s top-priority project and will work as another piece in the puzzle of Point Park being the catalyst of Downtown’s revitalization.

“We’re not just saying words, we’re following through on the actions,” Brussalis said. “And that’s why we’re getting interest from other stakeholders in town, interest from the state [and] interest from foundations.”

Though the 2029 completion date is not set in stone at all, Brussalis said he’s motivated to see the building complete and useful again, noting the university needs the extra space.

CCA, which lost the old YWCA after defaulting on its loan on the building — to the tune of a $3.8 million lawsuit from insurance agency Union Labor Life Co. — is in hot water nationally. Several properties the firm owns in Ohio are all slowly being sold and bought from the company.

Additionally, both of CCA’s phone numbers are disconnected and its website was disabled due to non-payment, according to website host Spherexx.

Reporting from Detroit business outlet Crain’s Detroit Business suggests that CCA is defunct, and creditors are after the business and its properties.

While the university announced plans to acquire the former YWCA building, administrators could not comment on the status or plans for the former Mellon Bank at 500 Smithfield St., another building Point Park requested RACP funding for.

The university requested $5 million in state funds to modernize core functions and build out flex classroom space, performance and rehearsal studios.