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The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

AN ACT AUTHORIZING LONG TERM LEASES FOR OFFICES FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE DUDLEY SQUARE AREA OF THE CITY OF BOSTON.

Whereas , The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to authorize forthwith certain long term leases for offices of the department of public health, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.


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. The commissioner of the division of capital planning and operations, in consultation with the department of public health, may, notwithstanding the first through the fifth paragraphs, but subject to the sixth paragraph of section 40G of chapter 7 of the General Laws, and subject to the provisions of this act, negotiate and enter into a lease or leases for a term not to exceed 20 years; provided, however, that said commissioner may exercise, prior to the end of said lease or leases, an option to extend said lease or leases for an additional term of not more than ten years, and any further such extension of said lease or leases shall require the prior approval of the general court, for all or any portion of such land, buildings, and improvements as may be selected by said commissioner pursuant to sections 40E to 40F½, inclusive, said sixth paragraph of said section 40G, and sections 40H to 40L, inclusive, of said chapter 7 and section 3 of this act; and provided further, that said leased premises shall be located in the Dudley Square economic redevelopment district in the city of Boston. Said district, delineated by the Boston redevelopment authority, includes all the land, buildings and improvements bounded on the northeast by Melnea Cass Boulevard between Harrison and Shawmut Avenues; on the southwest by St. James Street between Warren and Washington Streets; on the northeast by Shawmut Avenue through Shawmut Avenue to Shawmut Avenue Extension through to Washington Street between Melnea Cass Boulevard and St. James Street, which district is in the Dudley Square area of the city of Boston. Also included in said district shall be the land, buildings and improvements adjacent to, but outside of said boundaries, as well as all of the land, buildings and improvements within said boundaries.

The leased premises shall be for use by the department of public health primarily as offices in the city of Boston.

SECTION 2. The leases authorized by this act shall include the following terms and conditions: (a) that the lease shall be subject to appropriation of adequate funds annually by the legislature, and to authorization for expenditure of said funds annually by the secretary of administration and finance; (b) that the total occupancy cost, including rent and all other charges, paid by the commonwealth under the lease shall not exceed $25 per usable square foot of space for the first five years of the term and thereafter said cost may increase to reflect any actual increase in operating expenses for the leased premises, excluding capital improvements; (c) that the lease shall include, and shall not be executed without attachment of, final plans and specifications of such renovations and improvements to the leased premises and the building in which they are located, as are necessary for their use by the department of public health, which plans and specifications shall be at 100 per cent design stage, ready for construction, and which renovations and improvements shall be acceptable to the commissioners of the division of capital planning and operations and the department of public health; (d) that the lease shall require the landlord to construct said renovations and improvements prior to the commonwealth's occupancy of the leased premises and commencement of the lease term; (e) that the landlord shall be responsible for the design and construction of all such renovations and improvements and for the condition of the leased premises and the building in which they are located, notwithstanding any review, approval or oversight of the same or of any plans or specifications by the commonwealth; (f) that the lease shall require the landlord to keep the leased premises and the building in which they are located in good condition throughout the term, including by making repairs and replacements, and to establish and maintain adequate capital reserves for such purposes; (g) that any contributions made by the commonwealth to capital reserves or expenditures shall not apply to the initial construction of improvements and renovations under the lease, and must be amortized over the full useful life of any repairs, replacements or improvements to which such contributions are applied, with the commonwealth paying not more than its proportionate share annually based on the number of years remaining in the term of the lease; and (h) that the lease shall contain such other terms as shall be required by the commissioner. This authorization to enter into said leases is subject to the provision by the city of Boston of such funding to the landlords of the properties in which the leased premises are located as may be necessary to cover the landlords' development costs, including improvements, renovations, and transaction costs, and profit, in the event that said costs exceed $25 per usable square foot of space. In no event shall any payments made by the commonwealth be used to repay such funding by the city of Boston to the landlords.

SECTION 3. The construction, renovation, design, development, and management of the leased premises and the buildings in which they are located as authorized by this act, and any contract relating thereto, shall be exempt from the provisions of sections 38A½ to 40D, inclusive, of chapter 7, sections 44A to 44J, inclusive, of chapter 149, section 39M of chapter 30 of the General Laws, and any other general or special law or regulation governing construction, renovation, design, development, and management of real or personal property by or for the commonwealth. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all contractors and subcontractors engaged in the construction or renovation of improvements at the property shall pay prevailing wages under sections 26 to 27H, inclusive, of said chapter 149 and the leases authorized hereunder shall be subject to sections 40E to 40F½, inclusive, and sections 40H to 40L, inclusive, of said chapter 7.

SECTION 4. The lessors to any lease authorized by this act shall pay for all surveys, plans and specifications, peer review and oversight by architects and engineers hired by the division of capital planning and operations in connection with such lessor's design and construction, and for all other costs and expenses associated with the renovations and improvements to the leased premises and the buildings in which they are located as are required under the leases. Such lessor shall also pay for all costs and expenses associated with the leasing process and negotiations, as required by the commissioner. Such lessor shall be responsible for, and shall indemnify the commonwealth from and against, all costs and liabilities associated with the environmental condition of the properties in which the leased premises are located.

Approved August 10, 1998.