State officials said this week that negotiations are moving forward with a Seneca-based group on a potential sublease of pristine Lake Hartwell property they hope to convert into a destination where tourists could stay and play.

The Seneca group, Sanctuary Pointe LLC, had a deadline of June 30 to demonstrate to the state that it has the financing in place to sustain the Hartwell development for the duration of a long-term lease agreement.

Asked whether Sanctuary Pointe had met the state’s financial requirements by Tuesday’s deadline, a spokesman for the South Carolina Budget and Control Board only would say that talks are continuing and progressing.

Michael Sponhour said Sanctuary Pointe, the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will be discussing the potential sublease of the Hartwell property for development.

A source familiar with the negotiations said the state PRT and USACE would not engage in talking about a lease unless state officials were satisfied that Sanctuary Pointe had the financial wherewithal to make the destination tourism complex a reality.

The Hartwell project, which would be build in stages on more than 300 acres and include hotel, golf course, restaurant, cabins and other amenities, could cost at least $100 million according to some observers. The property is on the border between South Carolina and Georgia behind the Interstate 85 Welcome Center.

Robert Daffin, a spokesman for Sanctuary Pointe, said the group would not make any announcements or give details of designs and plans until an agreement is finalized.

Daffin was involved several years ago with an effort to fund a development at a 32-acre public-boating access on Lake Keowee in northern Oconee County. Plans for the project at Keowee Town Landing, which would have showcased Native American history and heritage, fizzled when Duke Energy officials put off development of the land indefinitely.

State PRT Director Chad Prosser referenced the Hartwell project during a visit to Seneca last week to promote a plan to boost tourism in the Upstate. Asked about the on-again, off-again status of the project, Prosser would only say that negotiations are continuing.

When the state put out a request for proposals (RFP) last year on the Hartwell project, Sanctuary Pointe alone put in a bid. However, state officials initially rejected the firm’s plans because they were not convinced the Seneca group could put a viable financial package together.

Sanctuary Pointe appealed the state’s decision and both parties signed a settlement agreement posted Jan. 9.

Under the terms of the agreement, state officials had given Sanctuary Pointe until June 30 to show it could finance the project and operate it for the duration of up to a 50-year lease.

Sanctuary Pointe principals include Gregory Amsden, of Keowee Pines Real Estate Inc., who is listed as the agent of record for the firm, and Elmon Henry, whose name appears on the settlement agreement with the state.

The Hartwell project, should it ever get off the ground, would provide the type of facility that Oconee’s Mountain Lakes Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Ken Sloan says is needed in the county to book business gatherings, retreats and other large-scale events.

Such a facility also would boost the local economy by creating hundreds of direct and indirect jobs.