Biosphere 2, an artificial ecosystem near Tucson that has alternated between serious science and kooky pseudoscience, has been sold to a housing-development firm, the Arizona Daily Star reported. However, the new owners hope to lease the facility to the nearby University of Arizona for climate research, and as a tourist attraction.

The new owners, an investment group called CDO Ranching & Development, L.P., are mostly interested in the 1,650 acres of land that surrounds Biosphere. It is in a growing area north of Tucson, near the town of Oracle.

The $200-million facility was financed by Edward P. Bass, the Texas billionaire. He helped arrange for eight people to live in the enclosure for two years, but the experiment was later ridiculed by scientists.

Columbia University operated Biosphere 2 from 1996 to 2003, and spent $25-million on facilities there. However, Mr. Bass’s company, the Decisions Investment Corporation, sued Columbia, saying it was not living up to its financial commitments, and the university pulled up stakes. Mr. Bass is taking a financial bath on the entire proposition: The facility and the land sold for $50-million. —Martin Van Der Werf