First State Bank of the Florida Keys purchased the USS Hoyt S. Vandenberg for $1.35 million Wednesday morning at a federal auction in Virginia, clearing the way for the former World War II and Cold War ship to become an artificial reef in waters off the coast of Key West.

''Thank God that piece of the puzzle is done and we can finish the project and sink the ship,'' Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson said. ``It's been a rough road.''

In a bidding war with Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk, Va., First State Bank came out on top. McPherson said the bank will be repaid with a pool of $8.2 million in federal, state and local funding available only after the ship is sunk. McPherson said there are now no financial hurdles in the way for the 524-foot Vandenberg to be towed from its current location at Colonna's Shipyard to Key West for sinking in waters six miles off the island city.

Key West City Commissioner Bill Verge said the sinking could be done as early as late February or early March. ''Our economy and our environment needs it,'' said Key West dive boat captain Joe Weatherby, who began the project 12 years ago.

The ship would become the world's second-largest artificial reef that was intentionally sunk. The 911-foot Oriskany, sunk off the coast of Pensacola in 2006, is the largest.''I want to dive it every day for 10 years,'' said Weatherby, who handpicked the Vandenberg out of 500 mothballed ships in 1996. ``I'll never be able to see all of it -- it's that big and that cool. This is going to be best wreck diving experience on planet Earth. But of course, I'm a little biased.''

Go to http://www.bigshipwrecks.com/index.html for more information, slides of its towing journey and a song dedicated to it.

Due to be sunk in Spring 2009, anyone interested in heading to Key West?