News Photo by Steve Schulwitz The exterior of the Royal Knight Cinema in downtown Alpena is seen on Wednesday.

ALPENA — For about the last eight months, the Alpena Downtown Development Authority has been working with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to secure a Community Development Block Grant that could lead to the DDA purchasing the former Royal Knight Cinema.

It was revealed in Alpena Planning and Development Director Adam Poll’s project update report to the Alpena Municipal Council on Monday that the DDA has received a letter of intent from the MEDC for the funding, which would not only be used to acquire the old theater, but also renovate it completely.

This grant amount has not yet been announced, but the minimum amount it can be is $50,000 and there is no cap amount set.

The old theater has been closed since spring 2018. It is listed for sale by NAI Capstone, a brokerage and asset management firm, for $275,000.

It is not known what the DDA is willing to pay for it, or how much needed renovations would cost.

Alpena County Assessor Ted Somers said the building is owned by GNC Michigan Theater Inc., which purchased it from a local owner in 1998. He said the assessed value of the building is about $136,600, but he doesn’t know what the actual appraised value is.

The DDA has already had talks with the owner of the building on an option to purchase agreement and will move toward reaching appropriate terms, which will then lead to a final purchase agreement.

The DDA board has been going into closed session for months about a possible property purchase, but have revealed little about the plan or what was discussed behind closed doors.

Thus far, there hasn’t been a official announcement on what DDA intends to do with the building if they acquire it, deciding instead to wait until the sale is closed before going into more details.

Anne Gentry, DDA director, said she has no comment on the project until after the option to purchase agreement has been reached.

Both Poll and MEDC officials declined to comment on Wednesday.

The DDA board is slated to meet on Nov. 5 at 3 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.