By Angel Feliciano, News Staff

Even as Northeastern’s Department of Housing and Residential Life this week put hundreds of students on a wait list for housing next year, construction has yet to begin on a dormitory behind the YMCA, which was set to begin in June 2011.

Officials presented the plans for a 17-story, 720-bed dormitory in October 2010 when Northeastern University announced plans to build the dorm on the St. Boltoph side of the Huntington Avenue YMCA, backed by Phoenix Property Company. The building was set to be completed by August 2013, but the plan is now eight months behind schedule.

John Tobin, Northeastern’s vice president for city and community affairs, scheduled interviews about housing plans with The News two weeks in a row, but failed to make himself available for comment during either scheduled time.

The October 2010 plan said Phoenix Property Company would to invest $75 million in the property and rent it to Northeastern once the building was completed.

By February 2011, about 1,000 people in the Symphony Hall and Lower Roxbury areas signed a petition against the proposed project.

YMCA members and other area residents petitioned the Boston Landmarks Commission in an attempt to get the YMCA building protected as a landmark, which would prevent certain renovations on the property.