SAN DIEGO -- City development officials will lose control of the Navy Broadway Complex if the property falls under the federal base closure process, Centre City Development Corp. directors warned Wednesday.

Continued delays in gaining necessary approvals for the redevelopment of the property on the downtown waterfront have raised the danger that the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission could take control of the site.

Wayne Raffesberger, a member of the CCDC board of directors, said local officials "will lose control" of the project if it goes to BRAC.

Doug Manchester, who won the right to redevelop the property, and the Navy have to sign a binding development agreement by Jan. 1 to avoid BRAC involvement on what's considered a prime piece of real estate by city leaders.

But that requires approvals first by the city and the CCDC board.

After a meeting last week, the CCDC directors appeared ready to vote Wednesday on whether the proposed project met terms of a 1992 development agreement outlining what could be built on the site.

The board had pushed ahead after Manchester eliminated a planned 250,000-square-foot building along Harbor Drive and offered to sell the roughly half-block site to the downtown redevelopment agency so it could build a park.

But the vote didn't happen because the City Attorney's Office is still reviewing the project. At issue is whether the City Council has the authority to re-examine the environmental impact of Manchester's proposed development.

The City Attorney's Office is expected to have an opinion no later than Oct. 13, said Nancy Graham, president of the CCDC.

The board set a meeting for 4 p.m. that day. And if the opinion is available, a vote could be taken.

In addition to office, commercial, hotel and retail space, the redevelopment plan calls for the construction of a building to serve as the future headquarters of Navy Region Southwest.

Having the project fall under BRAC raised "the fear of the unknown," said CCDC director Janice Brown.

While the possible vote next week is a critical hurdle, the CCDC board will continue to oversee the project and issue approvals through its various phases, Graham said.

Opponents of the project fear new buildings will effectively wall-off San Diego Bay from view.