Grasso said last week the company did not get paid the full amount of the lease but took in about $410,000 during the Census Bureau's stay.

Even at that amount, he said, the company made little if any money off the deal, after factoring in maintenance, janitorial services, utilities and taxes. He said the company will have to pay taxes on the income and capital gains taxes on the renovations that were made.

"In the future, if we did it again, my rate would probably be around $85 per square foot," Grasso said. "It looks like a lot of money, but we didn't make much on this."

He said politics played no role in the federal office being located in his building, pointing out that the federal government was controlled by Democrats in February 2009, when he signed the lease.

‘Kidding me'

Grasso said he did not expect to get the bid when he responded to the request for proposals. But the fact that the building was one story, had enough parking and was near grocery stores and restaurants apparently played a part in its selection, he said.

"When they came back and said, ‘You've got it,' I thought, ‘You've got to be kidding me,'" he recalled.