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The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY IN THE CITY OF BOSTON.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:


SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 40E to 40J, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of the division of capital planning and operations is hereby authorized to convey by deed to the city of Boston, for such consideration and upon such terms as described herein, a parcel of land with the buildings and improvements thereon. Said parcel of land described was conveyed by a deed from the United States of America to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, dated September 11, 1967 and recorded with Suffolk county registry of deeds in Book 8149, Page 405.

SECTION 2. The property described in section 1 shall be conveyed to the city of Boston for use as elementary and secondary educational facilities, subject to acknowledgment and acceptance by said city of the use and other restrictions placed on the deed which conveyed title to said property from the United States of America to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and any other restrictions imposed by the United States of America. In connection therewith, the commissioner of the division of capital planning and operations is hereby authorized to do such acts, enter into such agreements, and make such payments from the purchase price paid by the city as may be required or requested by the United States of America for the satisfaction or abrogation of any conditions and restrictions contained in said deed that may have been breached; provided, however, that the amount of any such payments, if any, shall be added to the fair market value required in section 4 and shall be paid by said city.

SECTION 3. Said conveyance of the property described in section 1 shall be further subject to the assumption, by the city of Boston, of the cost of any appraisals, surveys, and other expenses as deemed necessary by the commissioner of capital planning and operations. Said city shall be responsible for obtaining all approvals and releases, relating to the transfer to said city and to the use by said city of the parcels, required by the United States of America, included under the September 11, 1967 deed, and shall assume all costs related to obtaining such approvals and releases.

SECTION 4. Consideration for the property described in section 1 shall be the full and fair market value for highest and best use as determined by an independent appraisal taking into account the use restriction plus the additional payments that are added pursuant to section 2. The cost of any renovations, improvements, and environmental remediation, including, design, made to the parcel or the building thereon by the city of Boston prior to the conveyance, and the cost of any approvals and releases referred to in section 3 paid by said city prior to or at the conveyance, shall be deducted from said appraised value when determining the consideration to be paid. In addition, the cost of any improvements, including design, which shall be made by said city in order to make the parcel or the building thereon suitable for the purposes described in section 2, including without limitation, environmental remediation, structural and mechanical improvements, and the installation or improvement of life safety systems, shall be deducted from said appraised value when determining the consideration to be paid. The total allowable cost for said improvements made subsequent to property transfer shall be identified in the construction contract to be executed by said city prior to the conveyance.

SECTION 5. Prior to the conveyance, the inspector general shall review and approve the appraisal that determines fair market value, and said review shall include an examination of the methodology utilized for said appraisal. Said inspector general shall prepare a report of his review and file said report with the commissioner of the division of capital planning and operations for submission to the house and senate committees of ways and means. Subsequent to said conveyance and upon completion of building improvements described in section 4, said inspector general shall verify that said city actually expended the amount identified in the construction contract described in said section 4.

SECTION 6. If any property authorized to be conveyed by section 1 is used for any purposes other than the uses specified in section 2, or ceases to be used for such purposes, then, upon notice by the commissioner of the division of capital planning and operations, and subject to any federal rights and rights of reverter during the term of the federal restrictions relating to the property, title shall revert to the commonwealth subject to such terms and conditions as said commissioner may specify. The deed of the property shall include the requirements of this section.

SECTION 7. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

Approved November 28, 1997.