Superior and Sedgwick Associates, which will sell 366-70 W. Superior St. and 400-40 W. Superior St. for $149 per sf, was leasing the buildings totaling 120,771 sf for $15.96 per sf on a net basis. The city was paying $4.93 per sf to the owners for property taxes, according to the department of general services. If the city renewed its lease, it expected to pay $21 per sf to $25 per sf, or as much as $3.6 million a year, city officials say, paying as much in rent over five years as it will cost to buy the buildings now.

The administrative hearings department has been at 400 W. Superior St. for eight years. The city originally subleased the building in 1998, and is exercising an option to buy it. "It's a professional, dignified forum that is accessible to the public," says James Reilly of the administrative hearings department, adding the building is used six days a week, and is visited by 250,000 persons a year.

The 80-year-old building at 400-40 W. Superior St. is 113,036 sf while the building on the east side of Sedgwick is 7,735 sf and 50 years old. Superior and Sedgwick Associates spent $5.25 million in tenant improvements for the city, and moving would require similar expenses of at least $90 per sf, according to the department of general services. A closing date is expected before Oct. 31, or the city risks losing a $374,443 earnest money deposit.