Sanctuary Pointe on executive session agenda

A valuable piece of undeveloped property—325 acres–lies just off the first I-85 exit into South Carolina.  The peninsula is located within Oconee County, but the property is owned by the state Parks, Recreation and Tourism department.  For years the state has leased the property to developers who’ve a pursued a project called Sanctuary Pointe, a destination resort around midway between Atlanta and Charlotte.  According to Sanctuary Pointe’s El Henry, a 225-room hotel was to have been a major feature, but there were other amenities as well.  Was to have been is the key phrase.  For years, the lack of piped sewer on Oconee’s four-mile stretch of the interstate has held back any kind of development there.  Seemingly, however, that was resolved earlier month when the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority was able to meet a contractor’s $12.3 million price to extend the necessary line.  Then came a surprise.  Sanctuary Pointe’s Henry revealed the state had decided against granting an extension of the lease, generating speculation that the state might have something else in mind.  Fair Play businessman Chuck Kormelink has business interests at I-85 and SC 11 and he’s sympathetic to the Sanctuary Pointe team of developers.  Now comes word the Oconee County Council will include Sanctuary Pointe as a discussion item in executive session, following a regular open meeting scheduled March 21.