PHILIPSBURG, Pennsylvania — For over a decade, Pat Romano drove past the former Mallard Motel on his way to and from the construction business he owned in town. And the more he saw the motel fall into disrepair, the more he wanted to buy it — which he admits was a bit crazy.

Perched on the cusp of the Port Matilda Highway (and dormant for decades), Romano, a hardcore Philadelphia native who grew up with a steady diet of cheesesteaks and attitude, decided he’d go with crazy.