Bill Text: NY A08454 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Authorizes SUNY Albany to lease or make available a certain parcel of land on the Uptown and Alumni Quad campuses to the UA Corporation (University at Albany Development Corporation) for purposes of constructing and operating certain facilities and spaces required to support the mission of SUNY.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - referred to higher education [A08454 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A08454-Introduced.html
                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         8454
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                     June 16, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced by M. of A. McENENY, CANESTRARI, REILLY, AMEDORE -- read once
         and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
       AN ACT authorizing the lease of lands located at the State University of
         New York at Albany
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that the  state
    2  university  of  New  York  at Albany, ("University") is in need of addi-
    3  tional facilities to  fulfill  its  legislatively  mandated  mission  of
    4  research,  education,  and  workforce training. Specifically, additional
    5  instructional, laboratory, residential and student  support  spaces  are
    6  required  to support the academic and research programs of the Universi-
    7  ty, including those necessary to realize a  Biomedical  and  Information
    8  Innovation  Research  initiative  and  those  necessary for a growth and
    9  revitalization initiative for the University's Alumni Quad,  a  residen-
   10  tial  complex  in  the  Education  District of the City of Albany.  Both
   11  initiatives (hereinafter described as "the project") would be funded, in
   12  part, by active partnerships between government and private industry.
   13    The legislature further  finds  that  these  activities  will  promote
   14  enhanced  research, technology deployment, improved undergraduate educa-
   15  tion, neighborhood revitalization,  and  economic  outreach  across  the
   16  capital region of New York state.
   17    The  legislature further finds that granting the trustees of the state
   18  university of New York the authority and power to  lease  and  otherwise
   19  contract  to  make available grounds and facilities of the campus of the
   20  state university of New York at Albany will help promote and  accomplish
   21  these goals.
   22    S 2. As used in this act "the UA Corporation" shall mean the Universi-
   23  ty  at  Albany  Development  Corporation, which will be a not-for-profit
   24  corporation established for the purpose of facilitating the educational,
   25  research and economic development activities related to the  mission  of
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD13155-01-1
       A. 8454                             2
    1  the state university of New York by constructing, developing and operat-
    2  ing facilities which support economic development, academic and research
    3  activities  and  the mission of the state university of New York and its
    4  University at Albany campus.
    5    S  3. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the state univer-
    6  sity trustees are hereby authorized and empowered,  without  any  public
    7  bidding,  to  lease  and  otherwise contract to make available to the UA
    8  Corporation a portion of the lands of the state university of  New  York
    9  at  Albany  generally  described as all that real property consisting of
   10  approximately 25 acres of land on the Uptown and Alumni Quad campuses of
   11  the University at Albany, for the purpose of constructing and  operating
   12  research,  education,  residential,  and  student  support facilities to
   13  provide additional instructional, laboratory, residential,  and  student
   14  support spaces required to support the academic programs and the mission
   15  of the state university of New York. Such lease or contract shall be for
   16  a  period  not  exceeding 40 years without any fee simple conveyance and
   17  otherwise upon terms and conditions determined by such trustees, subject
   18  to the approval of the director of  the  division  of  the  budget,  the
   19  attorney  general  and the state comptroller. In the event that the real
   20  property that is the subject of such lease or contract shall cease to be
   21  used for the purpose described in this act, such lease or contract shall
   22  immediately terminate and the real property and any improvements thereon
   23  shall revert to the state university of New York. Any lease or  contract
   24  entered  into  pursuant to this act shall provide that the real property
   25  that is the subject of such lease or contract and any improvements ther-
   26  eon shall revert to the state university of New York on  the  expiration
   27  of such contract or lease.
   28    S  4. Any contract or lease entered into pursuant to this act shall be
   29  deemed to be a state contract for purposes of article 15-A of the execu-
   30  tive law, and any contractor, subcontractor, lessee or sublessee  enter-
   31  ing into such contract or lease for the construction, demolition, recon-
   32  struction, excavation, rehabilitation, repair, renovation, alteration or
   33  improvement  authorized  pursuant  to  this  act shall be deemed a state
   34  agency for the purposes of article 15-A of the executive law and subject
   35  to the provisions of such article.
   36    S 5. Notwithstanding any general, special or  local  law  or  judicial
   37  decision  to the contrary, all work performed on a project authorized by
   38  this act where all or any portion thereof involves a lease or  agreement
   39  for  construction,  demolition,  reconstruction,  excavation,  rehabili-
   40  tation, repair, renovation, alteration or improvement  shall  be  deemed
   41  public work and shall be subject to and performed in accordance with the
   42  provisions  of  article 8 of the labor law to the same extent and in the
   43  same manner as a contract of the state,  and  compliance  with  all  the
   44  provisions  of  article  8  of  the  labor  law shall be required of any
   45  lessee, sublessee, contractor and/or  subcontractor  performing  on  the
   46  project,  including  the  enforcement of prevailing wage requirements by
   47  the fiscal officer as defined in paragraph e of subdivision 5 of section
   48  220 of the labor law to the same extent as a contract of the state.
   49    S 6. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to waive or impair any rights
   50  or benefits of employees of the state university of New York that other-
   51  wise would be available to them pursuant  to  the  terms  of  agreements
   52  between the certified representatives of such employees and the state of
   53  New  York  pursuant  to  article  14  of the civil service law; all work
   54  performed on such property that ordinarily would be performed by employ-
   55  ees subject to article 14 of the civil service law shall continue to  be
   56  performed by such employees.
       A. 8454                             3
    1    S  7. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special, or local
    2  law or judicial decision to the contrary:
    3    (a)  the  UA  Corporation may require a contractor awarded a contract,
    4  subcontract, lease, grant, bond, covenant or  other  agreement  for  any
    5  single  construction project exceeding ten million dollars in the aggre-
    6  gate, for which more than twenty-five percent of such  aggregate  amount
    7  is  to be paid from appropriations furnished by the state of New York or
    8  the state university of New York, to enter into a project  labor  agree-
    9  ment  during  and  for  the  work  involved  with such project when such
   10  requirement is part of the UA Corporation request for proposals for  the
   11  project  and  when  UA Corporation determines that the record supporting
   12  the decision to enter into such an agreement establishes that the inter-
   13  ests underlying the competitive bidding laws are best met by requiring a
   14  project labor agreement including: obtaining the best work at the lowest
   15  possible price; preventing favoritism, fraud and corruption; the  impact
   16  of  delay;  the  possibility  of  cost savings; and any local history of
   17  labor unrest. For the purposes of this act,  "project  labor  agreement"
   18  shall  mean  work at the property authorized by this act to be leased to
   19  the UA Corporation as described in this act that  involves  the  design,
   20  construction,  reconstruction,  demolition,  excavation, rehabilitation,
   21  repair, renovation, alteration or improvements.
   22    (b) If the UA Corporation does not require a project labor  agreement,
   23  then  any  contractor,  subcontractor,  lease,  grant, bond, covenant or
   24  other agreements for a project shall be awarded pursuant to section  135
   25  of the state finance law.
   26    S 8. Without limiting the determination of the terms and conditions of
   27  such  contracts  or  leases,  such  terms and conditions may provide for
   28  leasing,  subleasing,  construction,   reconstruction,   rehabilitation,
   29  improvement,  operation  and management of and provision of services and
   30  assistance and the granting of licenses, easements  and  other  arrange-
   31  ments  with regard to such grounds and facilities by the UA Corporation,
   32  and parties contracting with the UA Corporation, and, in connection with
   33  such activities, the obtaining of funding or financing,  whether  public
   34  or private, unsecured or secured (including, but not limited to, secured
   35  by  leasehold  mortgages and assignments of rents and leases), by the UA
   36  Corporation and parties contracting with  the  UA  Corporation  for  the
   37  purposes of completing the project described in this act.
   38    S  9.  Such  lease  shall  include  an indemnity provision whereby the
   39  lessee or sublessee promises to indemnify, hold harmless and defend  the
   40  lessor  against all claims, suits, actions, and liability to all persons
   41  on the leased premises, including tenant, tenant's agents,  contractors,
   42  subcontractors,  employees,  customers,  guests, licensees, invitees and
   43  members of the public, for damage to any such person's property, whether
   44  real or personal, or for personal injuries arising out of  tenant's  use
   45  or occupation of the demised premises.
   46    S  10.  The  property  authorized  by  this act to be leased to the UA
   47  Corporation is generally described as those  parcels  of  real  property
   48  with  improvements  thereon,  consisting  of a total of approximately 25
   49  acres, situated on the Uptown and Alumni campuses of the state universi-
   50  ty of New York at Albany.  The  descriptions  in  this  section  of  the
   51  parcels  to  be  made available pursuant to this act are not meant to be
   52  legal descriptions, but are intended  only  to  generally  identify  the
   53  parcels:
   54  FIRST PARCEL:
   55    All  or  portions of the tract, piece or parcel of land situate on the
   56  Uptown Campus of the state university of New York at Albany, portions of
       A. 8454                             4
    1  which lie in the Town of Guilderland, County of  Albany,  State  of  New
    2  York  and portions of which lie in the City of Albany, County of Albany,
    3  State of New York, the total consisting  of  approximately  14.5  acres,
    4  subject  to  any  and  all easements, restrictions, and rights of way of
    5  record, and being more particularly bounded  on  the  south  by  Justice
    6  Drive,  on  the  west  by  Chemistry Lane and Life Sciences Lane, on the
    7  north by State Drive, and on the east by University Drive.
    8  SECOND PARCEL:
    9    All or portions of that tract, piece or parcel of land situate on  the
   10  Alumni  Quad Campus of the state university of New York at Albany in the
   11  City of Albany, County of Albany,  State  of  New  York,  consisting  of
   12  approximately   10.5   acres,   subject   to   any  and  all  easements,
   13  restrictions, and rights of way of record, and being  more  particularly
   14  bounded  on  the  south by Western Avenue, on the west by O'Leary Boule-
   15  vard, on the north by State Street, and on the east by Ontario Street.
   16    S 11. The state university of New York shall not lease lands described
   17  in this act unless any such lease shall be executed within  three  years
   18  of the effective date of this act.
   19    S  12. Insofar as the provisions of this act are inconsistent with the
   20  provisions of any law, general, special or local, the provisions of this
   21  act shall be controlling.
   22    S 13. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after  it  shall
   23  have become a law.
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