The century-old Peoples Building, a majestic marble structure in downtown McKeesport, is storied.

But the past decade or so has been more like a redevelopment horror tale.

The building has changed hands at least four times since 1996 and it's remained mostly vacant for much of that time.

Last month, the building was bought by two New Yorkers who hope to turn the narrative around.

Lin and Lily Lum, a computer engineer and an insurance representative from New York City, closed the deal June 16. They would not say how much they paid, but said it was very close to the asking price of $645,000.

The Lums own two apartment buildings in Brooklyn and wanted to invest in a commercial property.

Mr. Lum found the building through Google on the Internet and bought it from Chesterfield Mortgages, the building's most recent owner.

Mr. Lum said he was attracted to the building's historic look.

"The building looks great," he said. "It is also a landmark in McKeesport."

The building, built in 1906, features large pillars and a marble facade. It once housed the headquarters for Western Pennsylvania National Bank. When that company's space needs were reduced, the bank remained on the bottom floors and the office space above was leased to doctors, lawyers and others.

It was donated to the city's redevelopment authority in 1996 by Integra Bank, partly because that bank had trouble finding a buyer for the aging building, which needed extensive repairs.

Integra also threw in nearly $1 million so the authority could make repairs. The authority fixed the building's aging boiler and wiring systems on two of the floors.

"For a small redevelopment authority, that's a big undertaking," said Chuck Sterrett, then head of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of McKeesport.

The city moved the treasurer's office there. Later, it housed offices for the redevelopment agency, social service agencies and the company Echostar.

By 2002, having financially stabilized the property, the authority decided to sell the building. It did so to the Nevada-based investment group Strong Partners for $600,000 in April 2003.

Strong Partners soon turned around and sold the building to Geneva Equities, its parent company, for $2 million.

Geneva had floated plans of turning the building over to Rio Grande Studios, a New Mexico-based charity, then renovating the building to be used as condominiums to turn a profit for the charity.

But that plan dematerialized, and by 2006 Geneva had defaulted on its mortgage.

That company's failure discouraged city officials.

"They had put that they were going to do this and that, but obviously they never did that, which was disappointing," Mr. Sterrett said.

Mr. Lum said he would like to rent the upper floors to doctors or lawyers and start a fast-food franchise or a grocery store on the bottom floor.

Robert Callen, executive director of the redevelopment authority, is not sure the investment will pan out for the Lums because, he said, the building is in disrepair.

Though it is structurally sound, the windows are all original and there is no central air conditioning. Mr. Callen said there also may be asbestos in the building.

"You're going to put a ton of money in there [and] you're never going to get [any] out of it," he said.

Mayor Jim Brewster said he is "cautiously optimistic" about the Lums' ability to turn the building around.

"I don't want to discourage them ... we've been disappointed on past transactions in regards to that building," he said. "I think it's a good thing for the city."

Mr. Sterrett said the demand for office space in the Mon Valley is not very strong. But he added that the Peoples Building could qualify for historic tax credits and other government-subsidized loans.

Mr. Lum said he's aware of the challenges he faces in trying to revamp the building and knows he will have to be patient.

"For a long-term investment, you can't expect the money right away," he said.