Duquesne University's expansion ambitions got a boost yesterday, as Pittsburgh City Council unanimously approved its campus master plan and the transformation of a former apartment building into a dormitory.

	WTW Architects' rendering of Duquesne University's expansion. Click photo for larger image.

The master plan's approval "really gives us the green light to begin building north of Forbes [Avenue]," said Duquesne University President Charles Dougherty. The first project in the 25-year plan will be a $20 million, 160,000-square-foot retail and recreation center at Forbes and Washington Square, he said.

Demolition of two vacant apartment buildings on the site will begin shortly, and groundbreaking is scheduled for November, Dougherty said. The center will be anchored by a Barnes & Noble bookstore and will include basketball courts, weight rooms, climbing walls and a ballroom. It should open in the fall of 2007, he said.

Councilman Sala Udin, who represents the Bluff and Uptown neighborhoods, said the plan would "further integrate the university into the community" and provide jobs for minority residents.

Dougherty said the yet-unnamed center was just the first piece of the plan, which calls for substantial construction along Forbes, changes to existing dormitories and construction of new buildings on the Bluff.

The 800-bed Brottier Hall -- formerly Citiline Towers apartments -- has been operating as a dormitory since early 2004, and received final zoning approval for its new status yesterday.

When the university bought the building from private owners, some city officials bemoaned the transformation of a taxable property into a partially tax-exempt parcel. The property is now one-third taxable, reflecting the proportion of its units that are rented by people who are not Duquesne students.

Yesterday, though, council members noted that university officials have been supportive of proposals to have nonprofit institutions make donations to the fiscally struggling city.

"We certainly are sympathetic to the situation the city is in," said Dougherty. He added that the university hasn't committed to a specific contribution, and that any payment plan would have a three-year duration.