INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A Republican Party official with a lucrative deal to develop the pavilion at Indiana Dunes State Park hopes to break ground on the next phase of the project in the coming months.

The plan was first proposed by the group Pavilion Partners in 2010. But despite securing a long-term lease from the state, efforts to bring fine dining, a banquet center and a rooftop bar to the historic building have stalled repeatedly.

The effort even required the General Assembly to pass special legislation in 2016 to overturn several rulings denying a liquor license to the developers. Environmentalists also have opposed the deal.

Chuck Williams, the principal of Pavilion Partners, is treasurer for the Indiana Republican Party.

A spokesman for the group says they hope to break ground around Labor Day.