News Photo by Setve Schulwitz The former Royal Knight Theater is seen in downtown Alpena on Tuesday.

ALPENA — The Alpena Downtown Development’s effort to purchase the former Royal Knight Theater is up in the air because of uncertainty over state funding and lack of communication from the building’s owner.

The issue was discussed at a DDA board meeting on Tuesday, conducted online and via telephone because of social distancing restrictions meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Board President Mike Mahler said the building’s owner has not responded to a purchase option submitted by the DDA. Mahler also questioned whether money will be available to buy the facility because the state is spending millions of dollars to help offset the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 19,000 cases and 845 deaths have been reported statewide. One case has been reported in Presque Isle County, while zero cases have been confirmed in Alpena, Montmorency, and Alcona counties.

Before the pandemic, the DDA received a letter of intent from the Michigan Economic Development Corp., saying it intends to support the project. Mahler said a lot has changed since then and, now, the DDA needs to consider the chance that the MEDC could be forced to shift gears and use the money in the battle with coronavirus.

“I don’t know if that money is still going to be there,” he told the DDA board. “They could come back to us and tell us they needed to spend that money on the virus response. I’m sure the theater is among the least of their worries, right now.”

The DDA is also putting the finishing touches on its 2020-21 budget, which will be submitted to the Alpena Municipal Council for final approval.

Mahler said there are some tweaks that need to be made to it and a special meeting will be called next week.

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