San Diego

The builder of a controversial 2,287-unit condominium and apartment complex in Clairemont told the City Council on Tuesday that he may be unable to provide rental subsidies for senior citizens or offer 183 rental units to low- and moderate-income residents because he has been unable to obtain low-interest bond financing for the project.

“The financing is not guaranteed,” said Wayne Barnett, president of Woodcrest Development of San Diego, which is building the massive project east of Clairemont Drive, between Iroquois Avenue and Dakota Drive.

“That makes it a whole new ballgame as far as the rental subsidies (estimated at $62 per month for senior citizens) and the write-downs (units reserved for families earning less than $22,000 a year) are concerned. We want to push ahead with the project as it is currently approved, but we don’t know if that will be possible next year, with the uncertainty in the bond market.”

Barnett said bond financing is offered at an interest rate of 6% to 7%, while conventional financing would be about 5% higher. “That’s a lot of money when you’re talking about $58 million (the cost of constructing the apartments),” Barnett said.

To make room for the housing project, Woodcrest is demolishing Buena Vista Gardens, a large senior citizen housing project. Barnett said his promise to offer 100 apartment units to Buena Vista residents at rents comparable to those they now pay would stand, regardless of the financing arrangement.

The project lies in the district represented by Councilman Mike Gotch, who said he was “outraged” by the developer’s statements.

“When you tell me the rental write-downs might no longer exist, you’re asking too much if you expect me to continue to support this project,” Gotch said. “This tells me the entire project is starting to unravel.”