The former municipal building in Penn Hills has a new, short-term tenant.
Manhunt Productions Inc. has agreed to pay the municipality $10,500 for a three-month lease while the company films scenes inside the building at 12245 Frankstown Road.
Those scenes will be featured in the American true-crime miniseries’ second season: “Manhunt: Lone Wolf.”
Should council approve of the arrangement, the lease’s term would be May 1 through July 31, according to legislation before Penn Hills Council, which will vote May 20.
The municipality is searching for a permanent buyer for the 40,000 square-foot building and has listed it for $675,000. A tax assessment appeal has also been filed with Allegheny County to reduce the site’s assessed value of $2.3 million.
The building becomes the third site in Allegheny County to be featured in “Manhunt” filming, which is expected to take place around the region from June through November.
Other sites include Monroeville’s Tech One Business Park and the Allegheny County Courthouse. “Manhunt” opened a production office in Pittsburgh in March.
The Manhunt series aired on Discovery Channel in the summer of 2017 and the first season, “Manhunt: Unabomber,” was the true story of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, who between 1978 and 1995 killed three people and injured 23 others in order to start an anarchy revolution.
Kaczynski, played by Paul Bettany, pleaded guilty in 1998 and is currently serving a life-sentence without parole. Other stars included Sam Worthington, Chris Noth, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Jane Lynch.
Deadline.com reported last year that season two will focus on Richard Jewell, a security guard who was first praised for his quick action and then accused of a bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Eventually, Jewell was exonerated fully when Eric Rudolph was convicted of the crime.
Lionsgate has not released a statement about the second season’s plot, and a spokesperson declined to comment.
The series was bought by Charter Communications in July 2018 after Discovery chose not to renew the show. It will air on its Spectrum Originals subscription-based channel, but a release date has not been announced.
