The Navy Broadway Complex Coalition argued in the lawsuit that the environmental documents prepared in the early 1990s for the project are no longer sufficient, the group's Ian Trowbridge said.

“The main thing is that 16 years have passed and things have changed in San Diego,” said Trowbridge, a frequent City Hall critic. “It's absurd to think something 16 years old still applies.”

The coalition is scheduled to announce the details of the lawsuit during a news conference outside the Navy Broadway Complex Friday.

A local development firm headed by Doug Manchester signed a lease with the Navy last month to move ahead with the redevelopment of the site.

Manchester and the Navy had until the end of last year to sign a binding lease for the project or the 14-acre property would fall back under the federal base closure process.

If the property had fallen under the Base Realignment and Closure Commission process, known as BRAC, it would have left the future of the more than $1 billion redevelopment project uncertain.

At the time the deal was inked, Navy officials and Manchester called the project a “cornerstone” of downtown San Diego.

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

Critics have said the project walls off San Diego Bay's waterfront, the buildings are unsightly and the development includes too few public and open spaces, like parks and museums.

The San Diego City Council is scheduled to consider an appeal of the 1990s environmental review during its meeting on Tuesday.