Last November, we reported that the owners of an upscale spa in New York State had 'offered $10 million to the University of Chicago for the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis. ? one of the nation's most historically important, if no longer scientifically advanced, observatories.'

Well, they got it. According to a press release this week from the resort firm, Mirbeau will build a 100-room retreat and 73 small homes on the 30 acres surrounding the observatory. The observatory, in turn, will continue to be managed by its current owner, the University of Chicago, and will become 'a center for science and educational outreach for the wider astronomical and educational communities.' Funding will be through new room taxes and a portion of new property taxes generated from the development of the property, and the whole thing will be controlled by the Village of Williams Bay, Wisconsin.

The press release doesn't say whether the university accepted the $10 million as the final offer, but with that as a starting point, why not call the NIH and see what Uncle Sam will take for a resort in the rolling hills of Bethesda?