Sanford: Deal near on auto park

Gov. Mark Sanford tours the BMW plant with Sectretary of Commerce Bob Faith and BMW Director Helmut Leube. Staff/Ken Osburn e-mail this story to a friend

Sanford and Secretary of Commerce Bob Faith met with Helmut Leube, BMW Manufacturing Corp. president, and Carl Flesher, the company's vice president of corporate communications. Later, they toured the plant floor, seeing Z4s and X5s in production.

"We're very, very close" to an agreement on the research park, Faith said. "It's a very complex negotiation. It's really a matter of finalizing the details."

He and Sanford said they hoped to make a formal announcement in October but did not commit to that date.

If the automotive research park becomes a reality, "I think it's going to be huge for this part of the world," Faith said.

It will demonstrate globally that South Carolina is on the cutting edge of a knowledge-based economy as well as a production economy, he said.

Sanford said he wants to be sure that Upstate residents understand that the deal is not yet a done deal.

Sanford said that while he was initially uncomfortable with the deal because of his "concern for the taxpayers," negotiations with developer Cliff Rosen have progressed.

He said that all economic development projects in the state must be "a good deal for the taxpayers of South Carolina."