WARREN — A national science fiction and fantasy museum in the city moved one step closer to lift-off today.

The Trumbull County Historical Society took possession of the four-story structure at 410 Main Ave. SW as the future site of the museum. The building is about 18,000 square feet plus a basement.

While the building has been in the society’s sights since last summer and the purchase was completed in late December, Executive Director Meghan Reed still called today’s acquisition an important milestone in the process.

“It feels absolutely wonderful,” Reed said. “It’s really nice when you’re doing these big projects that feel like, ‘Hurry up and wait,’ that we have these moments throughout the process where we can stop and pause and feel grateful and excited about what we’re doing.”

Ryan MacLennan TCHS director of operations and outreach, added, “It kind of feels unbelievable but amazing at the same time. It took a lot of hard work to get to this point, a lot of time, energy and effort. Now that it’s here, it just feels hyperreal.”

TCHS bought the building for $275,000 with money from American Rescue Plan funds distributed by Warren City Council members. Ken McPherson provided the bulk of the funding with Ashley Miner-McBride and Andrew Herman, D-2nd Ward, also contributing to the project. Herman is the only one still on council.

The process started just over a year ago, when Warren native John Zabrucky reached out about donating the pieces his company, Modern Props, created for the film and television industry. Starting in 1977, Zabrucky’s creations appeared in hundreds of iconic films and long-running television series, including “Blade Runner,” “Men in Black,” “Total Recall” and many of the movies and series in the “Star Trek” franchise. And because he rented the props to the studios instead of selling them, most of his creations appeared in multiple projects.

The 1965 Warren G. Harding High School graduate signed a deed of gift to the historical society last spring. Between August and early January, 12 semi-trailer trucks filled with large and small props and other materials were shipped from southern California to Trumbull County, where they are being stored in a secure warehouse.

“We are in the process of selecting an architecture firm and exhibit design firms, and one of the big pieces is getting a very firm cost for what it will be to renovate and also to run (the museum),” Reed said. “We anticipate this project will speed up a bit now that we have the keys to the building.”

One of the delays is selecting a name for the museum. The goal is to create a national tourist attraction on par with Canton’s Pro Football Hall of Fame and Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Earlier this week Reed and MacLennan recruited Shelby Morrison, vice president of curatorial operations at the Rock Hall, to serve on the steering committee for the sci-fi museum. In addition to local representation, other members of the steering committee include Rick Ungar, former president of Marvel Productions, and Mark Waid, a comic book writer who has worked for both DC and Marvel comics and is co-creator with Alex Ross of the graphic novel “Kingdom Come.”

Reed said they hope to select a name for the museum within the next month or two.

“We’re getting asked a lot when are we going to start getting out more in the community and the ComiCon scene,” she said. “There are some things we feel very strongly we need to do first — pick a name and some basic branding, a logo, put together a one-sheet (with information on the project). We’re waiting for a name to be selected before we move forward with that process.”

If it hadn’t been for the 2008 recession, the building where the museum will be probably wouldn’t exist today. When Dale Bell, the building’s previous owner purchased it, the structure was in disrepair with boards covering the broken windows. He acquired it around 2007 with plans to harvest the wood and bricks and other building materials.

“Housing was booming,” Bell said. “Then you know what happened in 2008? Nobody bought nothing.”

Not knowing how long the recession would last, Bell pivoted and began restoring the first floor of the building, which featured a cafe and hosted art exhibitions. However, plans to create artist studios on the upper floors didn’t attract the interest he had expected, and the building had been empty for years.

“These are the right people for this building,” Bell said. “Hopefully it will be around for a long time.”