GULF SHORES, Ala. — Thanks to a $250,000 check, LuLu will be sunk next summer.

Not the restaurant owned by Lucy Buffett, but a 271-foot ship M.V. Yokamu, that will be named in her honor. The announcement came during the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce's monthly First Friday Forum breakfast at LuLu's.

Mac McAleer, with LuLu’s, presented the donation to David Walter Friday morning. It will cost about $500,000 to clean the ship, then tow it out into the gulf and sink it to become a reef. It will attract not only marine life, but also scuba divers.

“With the donation, we are going to name the ship the LuLu,” said Walter. “We will paint it on the side before we sink it.”

Just when the ship will be turned into an artificial reef is in limbo. The most likely time is June 2013, said Walter. But producers of the show “Reef Wranglers” have expressed an interest in filming the project for their show on the Weather Channel.

“If the television thing doesn’t happen, it will be around June, when the tourists come down and the water has settled,” said Walter.

“McAleer is a marketing genius. He’s talking about having a barge out there with palm trees and a band for the actual sinking.”

If the television deal does happen, the actual date will be readjusted to fit their schedule, Walter said.

The state of Alabama donated $100,000 in seed money for the project. The Baldwin County Commissioners ponied up another $200,000. The cities of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores added $50,000 each. The most recent check pushed the total to $650,000.