AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF BOSTON TO GRANT EASEMENTS IN OR TAKINGS OF CERTAIN PARCELS OF LAND TO 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. The city of Boston, acting by and through its parks and recreation commission, may grant a highway easement to the city of Boston department of public works for roadway purposes or the city’s department of public works, acting by and through its public improvements commission, may grant to or take a highway easement for roadway purposes over Joslin park in said city. That parcel is located at 415-435 Brookline avenue and is identified on the city’s assessors' maps as parcel number 0401966000. The portion of the parcel to be subject to the easement contains approximately 3,654 square feet and is shown as the "Highway Easement Area" on a plan of land entitled "1 Joslin Place, Brookline Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts Article 97 Change in Use Exhibit C-1", dated October 24, 2025, and prepared by VHB, Inc., which plan is on file with the city of Boston parks and recreation commission. The purpose of the easement shall be to facilitate the construction of a cancer hospital and associated site work and other public benefits, including improvements to the adjacent Joslin park, and, in connection therewith, the city of Boston may authorize the temporary use of Joslin park during the construction of the roadway improvements contemplated by the easement, the construction of the reconfigured Joslin park and the construction of a cancer hospital and related improvements on the abutting property at One Joslin place, all of which shall be constructed by the owner of One Joslin place and its air rights leasehold tenant.
SECTION 2. As a condition of and consideration for the granting or taking of an easement on a portion of Joslin park pursuant to section 1 and to ensure a no-net-loss of land subject to Article 97 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, the city of Boston shall: (i) acting by and through its public improvements commission, abandon its easement rights in and to that portion of Deaconess road, a city of Boston public street, containing approximately 1,516 square feet, which parcel of land is shown as "City Area to Park Area = 1,516 SF" on the plan referenced in section 1; (ii) on behalf of its public improvements commission, abandon its easement rights in and to that portion of Joslin place, a city of Boston public street, containing approximately 2,378 square feet, which parcel of land is shown as "City Area to Park Area = 2,378 SF" on said plan; (iii) on behalf of its public improvements commission abandon its easement rights in and to 2 portions of Joslin place, containing approximately 189 square feet, in the aggregate, which parcels of land are shown as "Joslin Place Area to Park Area (Typ) - From Owner of Joslin Place" on said plan; (iv) on behalf of its public improvements commission, abandon its easement rights in and to that portion of Joslin Place, containing approximately 920 square feet, which parcel of land is shown as "Shared Path Subject to Pedestrian and Maintenance Long-Term License or Other Legally Enforceable Means Area 920 SF" on said plan; and (v) upon the city's abandonment of the aforementioned portions of Joslin place, acquire by deed from Joslin Diabetes Center, Inc. or the then current owner of that certain parcel located at 415-435 Brookline avenue and identified on the city of Boston assessors' maps as parcel number 0401988001, those certain portions of Joslin place, comprised of the areas referenced in clause (iii) and the portion of the area described in clause (iv) which is owned by the owner of said parcel number 0401988001. The conveyance shall (1) be to a depth of not less than 12 inches below the designed finished surface grade, including those changes contemplated in the "Article 97 Change in Use Plan," prepared by VHB, Inc., dated October 24, 2025; and (2) subject to customary license approval by the parks department, shall provide that the owner of said parcel number 0401988001 shall have the right, directly or through third party utility providers, to maintain, repair, replace and reasonably relocate utilities in the subsurface areas retained by the owner and such owner shall have the right, directly or through third party utility providers, to disturb the surface of the park land to maintain, repair and replace such utilities, from time to time; provided, however, that the owner, or any such third party utility provider shall restore the surface above the utilities, including all paths, plantings and other park infrastructure disturbed by the installation. All land conveyed pursuant to clauses (i) to (iv), inclusive, shall be held by the city of Boston under the care, custody and control of the parks and recreation commission for public park and recreation purposes pursuant to said Article 97.
SECTION 3. No document or instrument conveying or taking a highway easement in the approximately 3,654 square feet authorized in section 1 shall be valid unless: (i) the city of Boston public improvements commission executes an instrument abandoning the easement rights in and to the property described in clauses (i), (ii) and (iv) of the first sentence of section 2 and (ii) Joslin Diabetes Center, Inc. or the then current owner of Joslin place parcel identified in clause (v) of said first sentence of said section 2 executes a deed to the city conveying the 2 areas depicted on the plan described in clause (ii) of said first sentence of said section 2 and the portion of Joslin place, consisting of approximately 920 square feet as described in clause (iv) of said first sentence of said section 2, owned by the owner of parcel number 0401988001; provided, however, that the deed shall be to a depth of not less than 12 inches below the designed finished surface grade immediately following the completion of construction of the initial park improvements on that real estate; and provided further that, the fee ownership of such subsurface area shall be retained by the owner of that parcel. Upon abandonment of the existing roadways easements by the city of Boston, acting on behalf of its public improvements commission, and, upon transfer to the city of Boston by Joslin Diabetes Center Inc. or the then current owner, such parcels shall be held and maintained by the parks and recreation commission solely for public park and recreation purposes pursuant to Article 97 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth.
SECTION 4. The square footages cited in this act, including in Exhibit C-1 on the plan of land referenced in section 1, are approximate and shall be subject to final changes that may occur during the permitting, approvals and actions by the city of Boston, including the public improvement commission, with regard to the roadway reconfiguration and layout and the construction of the reconfigured roadway and reconfigured Joslin park; provided, however, that, the aggregate square footage of the land to be conveyed to the city of Boston parks and recreation department for Article 97 purposes pursuant to sections 2 and 3, and Exhibit C-1 shall not be less than the square footage of the highway easement area identified in said section 1, as the same may be modified pursuant to this section.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved, May 26, 2026.