[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3300 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3300
To reconvey certain property.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 15, 2001
Mr. Capuano introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reconvey certain property.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AUTHORITY FOR ACQUISITION OF AND DEVELOPMENT WITHIN CERTAIN
URBAN RENEWAL PROJECT AREAS.
(a) Definitions.--As used in this section, the term--
(1) ``date of reconveyance'' means the date on which the
disposable real property is reconveyed to the Cambridge
Redevelopment Authority;
(2) ``NTSC'' means the John A. Volpe National
Transportation Systems Center;
(3) ``Authority'' means the Cambridge Redevelopment
Authority of the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts;
(4) ``CRA controls'' means the restrictions, requirements,
and other provisions affecting the use and ownership of
property within the Kendall Square Urban Renewal Project Area
contained--
``(A) in the Urban Renewal Plan;
``(B) the Land Disposition Contract;
``(C) the deed or deeds or transfer of any such
property from the Authority to the United States;
``(D) zoning and building laws of the city of
Cambridge, Massachusetts; and
``(E) any other applicable provisions or agreements
previously approved by the Federal Government;
(5) ``disposable real property'' means certain land and the
building thereon within parcel 1 of the Kendall Square Urban
Renewal Project Area, generally shown as tract 1 on a plan
entitled ``Master Action Plan, Kendall Square Urban Renewal
Project Area, parcel 1, tracts 1, 2 and 2A, September 2000,
scale: 1''=80''', prepared by Fay, Spofford and Thorndike,
Inc., Engineers, Burlington, Massachusetts, presently owned by
the United States subject to CRA controls;
(6) ``tract 1'' means that tract of land containing 5.8
acres and the building thereon shown as tract 1 on the plan
entitled ``Master Action Plan, Kendall Square Urban Renewal
Project Area, parcel 1, tracts 1, 2, and 2A, September 2000,
scale: 1''=80''', prepared by Fay, Spofford and Thorndike,
Inc., Engineers, Burlington, Massachusetts;
(7) ``tract 2 and tract 2A'' means those tracts of land and
the buildings thereon shown as tract 2 and as tract 2A,
containing 8.5 acres of land and the buildings thereon, on a
plan entitled ``Master Action Plan, Kendall Square Urban
Renewal Project Area, parcel 1, tracts 1, 2, and 2A, September
2000, scale: 1''=80''', prepared by Fay, Spofford and
Thorndike, Inc., Engineers, Burlington, Massachusetts;
(8) ``Urban Renewal Plan'' means the Urban Renewal Plan for
the Kendall Square Urban Renewal Project Area dated October
1965, as amended;
(9) ``Land Disposition Contract'' means the Land
Disposition Contract between the Authority and the United
States, dated June 13, 1966, as amended and supplemented; and
(10) ``Moderate-income family'' means a family whose income
does not exceed 80 percent of the median income for the area.
(b) Extensions of Plan and Restrictions.--The provisions of the
Urban Renewal Plan applicable to property in the Kendall Square Urban
Renewal Area conveyed by the Authority to the United States and such
restrictions, agreements, and covenants in the deeds of conveyance of
such property which would otherwise terminate on August 30, 2010, shall
be extended by the Authority until August 30, 2020, as may be required
by Federal or State housing subsidies and changes in permitted uses to
allow public open space, housing, and accessory uses. The appropriate
instruments to effectuate such extensions on behalf of and in the name
of the United States upon receipt from the Authority shall be executed
and delivered.
(c) Reconveyance Required; Conditions and Consequences.--
(1) Reconveyance.--Notwithstanding provisions of any other
law and any provisions of the Land Disposition Contract to the
contrary, the disposable real property shall be reconveyed, not
later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
from the Government to the Authority, and in consideration
therefore--
(A) the Authority shall prepare and carry out a
master plan for the development and reuse of the
disposable real property that includes the making of
appropriate demolition, alterations, installation of
public improvements, and sale or lease of tract 1 for
the purpose of open space and housing (of which, a
total of 30 percent of the dwelling units shall be for
low- and moderate-income families, who, with respect to
the lease of such units, shall not be required to pay
more than 30 percent of their annual income for the
yearly rental thereof);
(B) the Authority shall, upon the reconveyance of
the disposable real property to it under this
subsection, shall be responsible to make a payment to
the Government, calculated on the basis of the number
of market rate housing units constructed times a factor
of $15,000 per unit, by a nonrecourse note of the
Authority in such principal amount, payable in or
within 5 years from the date of reconveyance, which
note shall be secured by a first mortgage on such
disposable real property and shall provide for partial
release or releases upon payment of reasonably
equitable portions of the outstanding unpaid principal;
and
(C) the Authority shall cooperate with the
Department of Transportation to secure additional
space, if needed, within the Kendall Square Urban
Renewal Project Area for the expansion of the
facilities and functions of the Department.
(2) Provisions of office space, parking and related
facilities.--
(A) Feasibility study.--In order to carry out the
purpose of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation
shall make available $500,000 for the purposes of
undertaking a feasibility study to determine the amount
of new general office space in new buildings on parcel
1 to be used--
(i) by contractors engaged in NTSC work
activities;
(ii) by NTSC for expansion space; and
(iii) for lease to other private firms
seeking space in the Kendall Square area.
(B) Ground lease.--The Secretary is authorized to
enter into a long-term ground lease with the Authority
for the purpose of providing buildable lots to
accommodate office uses the amount of which to be
determined by the feasibility study described in
subparagraph (A) and based on office market conditions
in the locality. Office space, biotechnology office and
manufacturing facilities shall be located on Parcel 1
south of Potter Street and shall involve, exclusively,
entities having development rights in the Kendall
Square Urban Renewal Area. Further, the Secretary shall
grant to the Authority a permanent easement on tract 2
for the construction and operation of an electric
utility station.
(C) Structured parking.--The Secretary shall make
available $12,500,000 for the purpose of providing
structured parking to be used by the NTSC and its
contractors' employees to be constructed in accordance
with the ground lease described in subparagraph
(B). Such structured parking may be incorporated into an office
building structure. In the event that the construction of office
buildings is not feasible, funds shall be used to construct a
multilevel parking deck for employee parking.
(D) Demolition.--The Secretary of Transportation
shall make available to the Authority $3,000,000 for
the purpose of demolishing the existing shipping and
receiving facility (building 6), relocating and
incorporating the existing functions and occupants in
the high-rise building (building 1), and for site
preparation.
(E) Open space and amenities.--The Secretary of
Transportation and the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development are directed to make available funds to the
Authority in the amount of $2,000,000 for the purpose
of developing approximately 165,000 square feet of open
space for a full-size soccer field and related
amenities and a replacement playground to serve the
NTSC day care program which will be relocated from its
present location. Further, the Secretaries are directed
to identify and make available to the Authority
sufficient housing subsidies to finance not less than
75 dwelling units of housing that qualifies as
affordable housing under the provisions of section 215
of the Home Investment Partnerships Act (42 U.S.C.
12745). If an abutting tract of land is developed for
housing, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
shall identify and make available subsidies to finance
not less than an additional 75 units of affordable
housing units.
(F) Pedestrian passageway.--The Secretary of
Transportation shall make available through the Federal
Transit Administration funds to design and construct a
safe pedestrian passageway from the rapid transit
facility (Kendall Square Station) to the NTSC
facilities.
(G) Housing program.--The Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development shall assist the Authority and the
city of Cambridge to implement a program to create
housing on parcel 1 and the existing residential
neighborhoods in East Cambridge and Area 4, north and
west of NTSC, respectively.
(H) Preparation.--The Authority may take such
actions as are appropriate to ensure that it is
prepared to enter into ground leases with the
Government for the purpose of developing office
buildings and a parking structure as described in
subparagraphs (B) and (C) and shall take such actions
as are appropriate to ensure that not later than 1 year
of the date of enactment of this Act, not less than 500
parking spaces on parcel 1 of the Kendall Square Urban
Renewal Project Area are available for use by employees
of the NTSC, its contractors and tenants, and that such
parking is located on parcel 1. The Authority shall
cooperate with any implementing actions taken by the
Department of Transportation to ensure that--
(i) the existing shipping and receiving
facility is demolished; and
(ii) the functions from such facility are
relocated.
(3) Authority to execute instruments.--In making the
reconveyance provided for in paragraph (1), the Government may
execute any instruments, including contracts and deeds
necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this
section.
(4) United states relieved of obligations.--Upon the
reconveyance of the disposable real property to the Authority,
the United States shall be relieved by the Authority of any
obligation to develop the disposable real property under the
Land Disposition Contract.
(d) Effects on Other Rights and Obligations Prohibited.--Nothing in
this section shall affect any of the rights and obligations of any
party, or the responsibilities and authority of the Authority and the
United States applicable to any other portions of the Kendall Square
Urban Renewal Project Area. Nothing in subsection (c) shall limit the
Authority from seeking or obtaining available Federal, State, or local
financial assistance in order to comply with the requirements of
subsection (c).
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