HOBOKEN -- A showdown is brewing between Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Academy Bus over a parking lot in Hoboken's flood-prone southwest corner, pitting an administration determined to acquire an acre of the property for a park and drainage project against a major local employer and taxpayer whose asking price is triple what the city thinks it's worth.



Flood mitigation and resilience in the wake of Hurricane Sandy has been a cornerstone of the Zimmer Administration, and a key component is the proposed two-acre Southwest Park project along Paterson Avenue, which would include an underground detention basin to drain away flood water from that low-lying section of the city and then pump it into the Hudson.



Zimmer has already gone to court successfully to acquire an initial one-acre lot for the project adjacent to the Academy property, at a cost of $4.5 million, which was set by mediators after the former owner appealed a $5.5 million price tag set by a jury as part of an eminent domain process to take the property, approved by the City Council. The city believes the acre it wants from Academy is worth about the same amount as the initial acre acquired for the project.

But in an April 28 letter to the mayor, Academy president Frank Tedesco said he wanted $13 million for the property, nearly three times what the city thinks it's worth.



"I have given a great deal of thought to the City's proposal to acquire a portion our headquarters property at 111 Paterson Avenue as described in your letters dated January 14, 2016 and your counsel's letter dated March 21, 2016, and as further discussed in your office today," states Tedesco's letter, a copy of which was obtained by NJ Advance Media. "I would agree to convey the the lots you identified in your letters to the City for a purchase price of $13 million."



Academy, which owns more than one acre on its downtown site, also offered the city a deal for the property that involved no cash, but rather a change in the site's industrial and retail zoning that would allow Academy -- or a buyer or business partner -- to develop apartments or condominiums on part of the site.



"As an alternative, we are prepared to convey that portion of the property you identified for acquisition in your letters at no cost to the City in exchange for the City's adoption of a redevelopment plan (or other acceptable mechanism) that would permit the mixed use development of the propety on the remainder of our site for office, residential and some retail uses. I can provide you with a concept plan for such a development within a relatively short period of time."



With more than 1,000 buses in a dozen U.S. cities, Academy bills itself as "the largest privately owned and operated transportation company in the US." The site involved is separate from Academy's northern location in the city, a sea or blacktop where dozens of its white and blue commuter buses and silver coaches park overnight.



The letter from Academy also reminded Zimmer that Academy employed 440 workers in the city, and paid $500,000 a year in property tax, with some additional wording implying that might not always be the case.



"It is my desire for Academy to remain in the city, and to maintain and expand its corporate headquarters at 111 Paterson Avenue," the letter stated. in closing, it Tedesco wrote, "Hopefully we can work this out."



But whether they can work things out amicably was hardly clear on Wednesday, when Zimmer's office released a firmly worded statement expressing disappointment that Tedesco's letter had been obtained by NJ Advace Media, and noting that the lot had been identified as potential parkland in the city's 2004 Master Plan. The statement also hinted the seizing of the property by the city's right or eminent domain, in exchange for its appraised market value, was a possibility if a friendlier settlement could not be reached.



"Good faith negotiations are not conducted through the press," said the statement. "The City is fully committed to acquiring this property, and we hope these negotiations succeed and that Academy's precipitous actions are not intended to be an ultimatum to the City and its citizens. In the event that their position represents a 'take-it-or-leave-it' offer, the City will evaluate the alternatives legally at its disposal and move forward in the manner we believe most appropriate."



Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.