Derek-I understand. I am actually pretty familiar with the whole project. For those of you who have never been, one of the most fascinating things about Hampton Isl is that very few people in Georgia even know about the place. There has been absolute zero marketing in the area. There has never been an ad on the local television stations or newspapers. There is no billboard on the interstate, there's not even a sign at the gate. (The gate is not guarded, and is just a swing gate that is locked with a chain and padlock). There was a Savannah realtor tangentially connected to the marketing, but she wouldn't disclose the location. She would only vaguely mention this ultra exclusive development on a nearby barrier island.
I first became aware of the project when I noticed this huge berm about 30 feet tall built just back in the woods off of the I95. I asked a few people in Savannah what it was and none of them knew. Eventually I figured out what was going on.
The project has actually been around for a pretty good while. They were pretty well in full mode for a couple of years before the real estate bust. Given the price of the lots, they should have recovered a good chunk of their inital investment. The Affleck sale alone may have grossed close over half of the acquisition cost, but that is speculative (although easily determinable through public records).
Lately the development is the center of a court battle for control. The original developer agreed to give up 60% of its stake to an investment group if they could provide 30 million in financing by 11/15/06. They only came up with around 10 million, and on 11/16/06 the founders notified the capital investment group of their default so they would only get 10% stake instead of 60%. Since then, it's been a fiasco. The local judge in small town Georgia was pretty clearly favoring one side, but that has somewhat been addressed by the GA Supreme Court. I would guess it's fair to say at this point, no one knows who is really running the place.