AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF A PARCEL OF LAND FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION TO THE BOSTON REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY AND THE CITY OF BOSTON
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to allow for the restoration, adaptive reuse and permanent protection of a deteriorated historic building in the Roxbury section of the city of Boston and to promote economic redevelopment and improvement in the community, 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. Notwithstanding sections 32 to 38, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General Laws or any general or special law to the contrary and pursuant to such additional terms and conditions as the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may prescribe, the division of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the department of conservation and recreation, may convey by deed and related agreements and instruments to the Boston Redevelopment Authority a certain parcel of state-owned land located along Melnea Cass Boulevard in the Roxbury section of the city of Boston, containing approximately 38,265 square feet, as shown on the city of Boston assessors’ maps as parcel No. 0802426030, and is identified as parcel SR-25 in an instrument dated May 31, 1989 and recorded in the Suffolk registry of deeds in book 15823, page 218. The parcel is presently under the care, custody and control of the department of conservation and recreation and held for conservation and recreation purposes in connection with the Roxbury Heritage State Park, as described in section 2. The parcel may be conveyed to the Boston Redevelopment Authority for redevelopment purposes including, but not limited to, private development, subject at all times to the conservation and preservation restrictions described in section 4. The exact location and boundaries of the areas to be transferred shall be determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance in consultation with the department of conservation and recreation.
SECTION 2. To ensure a no-net-loss of lands protected for natural resource purposes, the consideration for the conveyance authorized in section 1 shall be the full and fair market value of the parcel, as determined by the division of capital asset management and maintenance based upon an independent professional appraisal and subject to sections 3 and 4. The appraisal required by this section shall be subject to the review and approval of the inspector general and such review shall include an examination of the methodology utilized for the appraisal. Within 60 days after receiving an appraisal, the inspector general shall prepare a report of such review and file the report with the division of capital asset management and maintenance. After receiving the inspector general’s report and at least 15 days before the Boston Redevelopment Authority executes any agreement or instrument for the conveyance of the parcel, the division shall submit the report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the house and senate committee on bonding, capital expenditures and state assets. All consideration received shall be deposited in the Division of State Parks and Recreation Trust Fund established in section 34 of chapter 92 of the General Laws and shall be expended by the department of conservation and recreation on improvements to the properties of the Roxbury Heritage State Park owned by the commonwealth and under the care and control of the department of conservation and recreation. For purposes of this act, “Roxbury Heritage State Park” shall mean: the Dillaway-Thomas House property and adjacent parcels presently under the care and control of the department of conservation and recreation, located at 183 Roxbury street, and any land to be acquired by the department expressly for addition to Roxbury Heritage State Park.
SECTION 3. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this act, the Boston Redevelopment Authority shall be responsible for all costs and expenses including, but not limited to, costs associated with any engineering, surveys, appraisals and deed preparation related to the conveyance authorized in this act as those costs may be determined by the division of capital asset management and maintenance and acceptable to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, upon conveyance of the parcel by the commonwealth, the Boston Redevelopment Authority or its lessee or successor in interest, as the case may be, shall be solely responsible for all costs, liabilities and expenses of any nature and kind for the development, maintenance, use and operation of the parcel described in section 1.
SECTION 4. The Boston Redevelopment Authority may pay the consideration under section 2 as follows: (i) $1.00 at the time of the conveyance; and (ii) at the time of any subsequent sale, mortgage, lease, encumbrance or other disposition of the parcel or any portion thereof, the full appraised value, less any credits or adjustments agreed to by the parties, to the division of capital asset management and maintenance, and such amount shall be adjusted for the timing of the receipt of payment under any subsequent lease or other conveyance agreements to a successor in interest and deposited into the Division of State Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, established by section 34 of chapter 92 of the General Laws to be held and expended in accordance with section 2.
SECTION 5. Any development or other improvements on the parcel shall delineate and preserve the northeast corner of the parcel as public parkland and such parkland shall not disturb any archaeology, shall include appropriate interpretation of the historic former uses of the site and shall serve as a gateway to the Roxbury community. Subject to the approval of the department of conservation and recreation, the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the city of Boston, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall delineate the parkland area with due regard to the issues identified by the department and the city of Boston from within or arising from the archaeological survey referred to in section 9. In furtherance of that purpose, as part of the deed or by separate instrument, the division of capital asset management and maintenance shall retain a perpetual preservation restriction, either under the care and control of, and subject to the approval of, the department of conservation and recreation or the Massachusetts historical commission, and shall convey a perpetual conservation restriction to the city of Boston within the meaning of section 31 of chapter 184 of the General Laws and with the benefit of section 32 of said chapter 184. The preservation restriction shall protect the historic and archaeological resources. The conservation restriction shall be conveyed to the city of Boston, under the care and control of its conservation commission and shall include at a minimum that: (i) the parkland design shall be subject to the approval of the department; (ii) the park shall be constructed, operated, maintained and repaired at the sole cost of the owner of the fee interest or any lessee; (iii) the park shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the city of Boston, as approved by the department of conservation and recreation; and (iv) shall be open to the general public by a date to be specified in an agreement between the division of capital asset management and maintenance and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and approved by the department of conservation and recreation, prior to the conveyance of the parcel. The conservation and preservation restrictions shall not be subordinate or junior to any mortgage, lease, lien, condition, covenant, encumbrance, easement, restriction or any other matter or interest in the land, whether recorded or unrecorded. The costs of constructing the park, subject to approval by the division of capital asset management and maintenance and the department, may be credited by the division against the consideration due under section 4.
SECTION 6. Notwithstanding sections 32 to 38, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General Laws or any general or special law to the contrary and pursuant to such additional terms and conditions as the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may prescribe, the division of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the department of conservation and recreation, may convey by deed, for no monetary consideration, to the city of Boston, the state-owned parcel, including the portion of the building thereon, described in section 7. The parcel is presently under the care, custody and control of the department of conservation and recreation and held for conservation and recreation purposes in connection with the Roxbury Heritage State Park. The parcel shall be conveyed to the city of Boston, subject to the preservation restriction described in section 8. The exact location and boundaries of the areas to be transferred shall be determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance in consultation with the department of conservation and recreation. The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall establish the value of the property for both the highest and best use of the property as currently encumbered and for the purposes described in said section 8. The commissioner shall place notification of the conveyance in the central register, the amount of the transaction and the difference between the calculated value and the price received.
SECTION 7. The parcel referenced in section 6 is located along Washington street in the Roxbury section of the city of Boston, containing approximately 3,781 square feet, shown on the city of Boston assessors’ maps as Parcel No. 0802426010 and identified as parcel SR-26 in an instrument transferring care, custody and control of the parcel from the department of public works to the department of environmental management, dated September 18, 1989, and recorded in the Suffolk registry of deeds in book 15823, page 218.
SECTION 8. As part of the deed or by separate instrument for the parcel described in section 7, the division of capital asset management and maintenance shall retain a perpetual preservation restriction, within the meaning of section 31 of chapter 184 of the General Laws and with the benefit of section 32 of said chapter 184, either under the care and control of and subject to the approval of, the department of conservation and recreation or the Massachusetts historical commission to ensure the restoration and preservation of the historic Owen Nawn Factory building by the city of Boston, its lessees, or its successors and assigns. The preservation restriction shall apply to the entire building and all of the land, whether the portion located on land is shown on the city of Boston assessors’ maps as Parcel No. 0802426010 or on the city of Boston assessors’ maps as Parcel No. 0802426020. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, upon conveyance of the parcel by the commonwealth, the city of Boston or its lessee or successor in interest, as the case may be, shall be solely responsible for all costs, liabilities and expenses of any nature and kind for the development, maintenance, use and operation of the parcel described in section 6.
SECTION 9. In accordance with the requirements of sections 26 to 27C, inclusive, of chapter 9 of the General Laws, the department of conservation and recreation may undertake and fund an archaeological survey upon all or a portion of the land described in section 1 and all or a portion of the adjacent city-owned land shown on the city of Boston assessors’ maps as parcel No. 0802426040. The disposition of the parcels described in sections 1 and 7 shall not occur unless the department moves forward with the archaeological survey and the archaeological survey is completed to the satisfaction of the department, the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the city of Boston
Approved, August 11, 2014.