Newark will pay $27 million over 30 years to rent property that it sold for $1 in 2017, according to a deal the city council approved on Wednesday.

The city will rent 258 parking spaces and office buildings on 43-67 Green Street from the Newark Parking Authority, an autonomous public agency that plans to redevelop the land.

But the agreement raised eyebrows among some members of the council and the public who questioned why the city had not kept and developed the property itself, instead of selling it to the parking authority.

“We’re paying them for something that we gave them. This is basic math, it doesn’t add up,” Newark resident Debra Salters said.

The lot, which is currently a surface parking lot for municipal employees, is adjacent to City Hall and steps from the Prudential Center. Last month, employees were told they could no longer park on the property and were relocated around the area.

“This is not the Parking Authority pushing this on the city, a redevelopment agreement was passed by this council,” Anthony Mack, executive director of the parking authority told the council on Wednesday. “We’re actually subsidizing the city as we’re constructing this.”

Under the $34 million redevelopment project, the parking authority will erect administrative offices, ground-floor retail space and a five-story parking deck with 515 parking spaces. There will also be a cafe with outdoor seating and offices for the parking authority.

The property is assessed at more than 10 million, according to state property records.

Newark will rent storage space for its municipal court, relocate its finance department there and get 258 parking spots for use during business hours. The 30-year agreement allows the city to lease 26,000 square feet of space for $27 a square foot with a 5 percent increase every three years.

The parking deck will also satisfy the city’s long-standing obligation with the New Jersey Devils. Under a 2013 revenue-sharing arrangement between Newark and the Devils for the Prudential Center, the city agreed to build a parking deck on Green Street. The city offloaded that requirement to the parking authority when it sold the land in 2017, officials said.

On Wednesday, the lease was approved in a 5-4 vote, with Councilmen Carlos Gonzalez, Augusto Amador, Anibal Ramos and Luis Quintana voting no. But the meeting turned heated when resident Lisa Parker questioned whether Council President Mildred Crump had a conflict of interest in voting for the lease.

Crump’s son, Lawrence Crump, is general counsel for the parking authority.

“How dare you?” Crump said from the dais. “How dare you question his integrity? How dare you question mine? Why are you asking this question?”

Kenyatta Stewart, corporation counsel for Newark, said Crump voting on the parking authority issue was not a conflict because neither she nor her son would directly benefit from the deal.

“She has nothing to gain in this situation,” Stewart said.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.

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