A developer with big plans for the old municipal building on Frankstown Road has fallen victim to the economic woes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The building at 12245 Frankstown Road had been under contract with Dolney Properties LLC since September. But as of May 1, the deal fell through. “With everything going on, the lender didn’t have the appetite for commercial projects,” said Renee Dolney. “I’m heartbroken.” Dolney, who lives in Wilkinsburg near the Penn Hills and Churchill border, was the sole bidder on the building after Penn Hills moved to put its old headquarters up for a public bid. She agreed to purchase the vacant 40,200 square-foot edifice for $151,000. Council approved Dolney’s offer in September, after months of unfavorable offers. The property was first put on the market under Michael Pirollo in December 2018. Pirollo did not respond to a request for comment. And before hiring Pirollo, the plans for the property included demolishing the building in order to make room for what officials called the “Penn Hills Town Square Memorial.” The municipality even applied for a $250,000 grant from Allegheny County. The whole plan was quickly scrapped, however, when several residents spoke against it. Dolney had poured over her project for months. She envisioned a total rehabilitation and she was going to name the building the Penn Hills Innovation Center, a professional building housing a variety of practices. She had even secured a couple of tenants. For months she worked to secure estimates for the various projects – putting on a new roof, laying new flooring, removing asbestos, installing a new HVAC system, new windows and a sprinkler system. Dolney’s lender had agreed to a loan worth a little less than $2 million for the project, which would have been broken up into four funding phases, she said. But all that planning was done before the coronavirus sickened millions and paralyzed the economy. “I worked so hard to put this all together for a lender. They have to have everything planned out. But never once did I put ‘global pandemic’ in my calculations,” Dolney said. Dolney has said she is in the business of preserving the area’s structural and architectural heritage — for residential and commercial properties. But transforming the old municipal building was her sole project. “I didn’t have a plan B,” she said, adding she doesn’t know what lies ahead for her. For Penn Hills, the botched deal means more waiting for offers that may or may not come. “I’m not at all surprised this happened, given we’re in the middle of this covid-19 crisis,” said Penn Hills Mayor Pauline Calabrese, adding the municipality had just learned about Dolney’s backing out of the project on May 1 via a letter. Calabrese said the next move is approaching possible buyers. But marketing the property has proven to be difficult because of the costly renovations needed and its steep tax bills. The property is assessed at $2.3 million – bringing the monthly tax bill to around $7,500, according to real estate records and current property tax rates. That’s why the municipality has appealed the property’s tax assessment. Penn Hills is currently awaiting a decision by the Allegheny County Board of Viewers that will determine if the property will be reassessed. Before the pandemic, a hearing was scheduled for May 10. Craig Alexander, the municipality’s solicitor, said that hearing has been continued but did not know its rescheduled date. Meanwhile, Dolney is left fearing what she sees as a worst-case scenario for the old municipal building: “Someone buying it and bulldozing a historic structure in Penn Hills. My real fear is it will disappear.” Have news to share?