Does anyone know why the county sold the building? It seems stupid to me to sell a building you already own just to lease it afterward.

The most I could find is:

In 1984, the County, through the EDC, entered into an agreement for the sale and leaseback of the Wayne County Building with the Old Wayne County Building Limited Partnership. The terms of the capital lease [[Note 11) provide for the refurbishment and restoration of the building in return for a note from the Partnership for $5.3 million, at 9% per annum, due and payable in 2028. The current value of the note is $29,097,733. The note is a non-recourse obligation of the Partnership that is secured by the Wayne County building. The note requires minimum semi-annual payments of $500,000.
[[source: http://www.waynecounty.com/mygovt/mb...-2006-CAFR.pdf page II-72)

I don't understand what all that means.