Torrance : Builder Balks at Bond

The developer of two proposed housing projects for the elderly threatened to walk away from the projects Tuesday after the City Council refused to allow him to post a partial letter of credit rather than a bond to ensure the completion of the job.

“I’m astonished and upset,” developer Thomas Safran told the council. “A big part of me wants to say, ‘Take the project and develop it yourself.’ I’m intensely frustrated.”

Safran--whose plans for a 78-unit structure at Cravens Avenue and El Prado and a 36-unit building at Ocean Avenue and 226th Street were approved by the City Council in December, 1984--said he will “sleep on it” before making a final decision.

Safran has until July 7 to produce the bond and a contract with a general contractor, or the city will be free to select another developer or build the projects itself.

Safran had been seeking to post a letter of credit representing only 30% of the cost of the project, rather than the usual 100% bond.

Safran would not say how much he would lose if he walked away from the project, but city sources estimate it could be more than $150,000.