Former head of state Infrastructure Bank says Sanford trying to derail auto park

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"It just makes me sick in my stomach to see a project of this magnitude and this opportunity beginning to move off the charts here in terms of being able to get it done because the governor won't sit down and do what he needs to do to make it work," Howard "Champ" Covington said.

Sanford maintains his goal is to make sure taxpayers are protected from a "sweetheart" deal with the developer and is not trying to stop the road work or the project, said Will Folks, the governor's spokesman.

Covington was chairman of the Infrastructure Bank, which appropriated the $12 million, for seven years before Sanford replaced him earlier this year.

Rep. Dan Tripp, R-Mauldin, also is questioning Sanford or the May 8 letter sent from the Infrastructure Bank to the City of Greenville recommending it stop the road work on 407 acres of land near the intersection of Laurens Road and Interstate 85.

Tripp said he believes this is an attempt to stop the project that has been under negotiation among the state, Clemson University and a developer, Clifford Rosen.

"The latest move by the Infrastructure Bank is a back channel maneuver to kill the project," Tripp said. "The governor is going down a perilous path that will lead to litigation and cost the state taxpayer money and push back the timetable on the project."

Folks said Tripp is not part of the day-to-day negotiations. He said he doesn't fault Tripp for misunderstanding what the governor is doing.

"We can say two things for sure: It is going to happen and it is going to happen in Greenville," Folks said. "It just may not happen on this site and with this developer because of the way the deal is structured."

Tripp said he believed Sanford's actions are because Rosen donated money to Gov. Jim Hodges, a Democrat defeated by Sanford last November.

"I think he has a vendetta against the developer," Tripp said. "It boils down to this is a payback to a political opponent."

Tripp also questioned why nothing has happened yet on the project. The governor requested 60 days to review the plan in November. Last month, he told The Greenville News that negotiations were moving into final stages.

"This whole process has been filled with bad faith on behalf of the governor in an attempt to kill this project," Tripp said.

A wind tunnel as well as a Clemson automotive engineering graduate school have been discussed for the site, but Sanford has questioned the private investment in the project that has been estimated to create 20,000 jobs.

Secretary of Commerce Bob Faith said the state wants to build an automotive research park in Greenville featuring a Clemson graduate school but is not wedded to the developer or the site.

"It's a wonderful site, but the deal isn't good," Faith said.

Faith could not comment on what is being negotiated and what is on the table in the way of funding on both sides. The project has evolved over the past few years from being centered around a wind tunnel to becoming a full research park with private and public development.

"This is a wildly complex deal to end up commenting on pieces of it," Faith said.

John Boyanoski covers the city of Greenville. He can be reached at 298-4065.