Site of Crowdfunded Nikola Tesla Museum Now Owned By Project

If you were one of the many who donated to cartoonist Matt Inman's crowdfunding project to fund a museum dedicated to the life and work of Nikola Tesla in his final laboratory in New York state, you'll be happy to know that things are moving along quickly, with the 16 acre site now officially the property of the future Science Center.

The New York Times reported that the deal was struck between the Tesla Science Center (formerly the Friends of Science East) and the Afga Corporation on Friday of last week to purchase the property that still hosts the now-delapadated brick building that was the final lab for the scientist for an undisclosed amount (The property had been listed at $1.6 billion). "All the terms and conditions have been accepted. It's all good," said John P. O'Hara, the real estate agent responsible for the property. "The stars have finally aligned."

Inman's IndieGoGo campaign had attempted to raise $850,000 towards the asking price of the museum, but ended up raising considerably more: $1.375 million, in fact (The overflow is said to be going towards improving the facilities before the museum opens). According to Marc Seifer, author of Tesla biography Wizard, the success of the crowdfunding campaign shows that it's taken society a long time to recognize what Tesla gave to the world. "Tesla was an inventor in so many different realms - aircraft design, robotics, beam weapons, mass communications - that he's an inspiration for what true genius really is," Seifer told the NYT, adding that he thinks that "people from all over the world will want to visit the site of his laboratory."

With the sale now closed, the hard work begins: Transforming the land - which has been unused for two decades - into a museum worthy of Tesla's legacy.