NY State Senate Bill 2011-S5772

Senate Bill S5772

2011-2012 Legislative Session

Authorizes SUNY Albany to lease or make available a certain parcel of land on the Uptown and Alumni Quad campuses to the UA Corporation

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 04, 2012	referred to higher education
Jun 15, 2011	referred to rules

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2011-S5772 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8454
Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education

2011-S5772 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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.

2011-S5772 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S5772

TITLE OF BILL:
An  act authorizing the lease of lands located at the State University
of New York at Albany

PURPOSE:
This bill would authorize the University at Albany  (State  University
of  New  York  at  Albany)  to  lease  lands  for  two projects: 1) to
implement a Biomedical and Information Innovation Research initiative;
and 2) to undertake a growth and  revitalization  initiative  for  the
University's Alumni Quad. These initiatives will promote the expansion
of University research, help retain and create well-paying jobs in the
Capital  Region,  and help revitalize and stabilize a downtown area of
the City of Albany. This legislation is  part  of  the  University  at
Albany's   proposal  in  response  to  Governor  Cuomo's  NYSUNY  2020
Challenge Grant initiative.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This  bill  is  modeled  after  previous  laws  to  allow  land  lease
arrangements  for  the  benefit  of state universities. Section 1 sets
forth the  legislative  findings,  noting  that  these  projects  will
promote    enhanced    research,   technology   deployment,   improved
undergraduate  education,  neighborhood  revitalization  and  economic
outreach  across  the Capital Region. Section 2 defines the University
at  Albany  Development  Corporation  (UA  Corporation).   Section   3

authorizes  the  State University Trustees, without public bidding, to
lease and otherwise contract to make available to the UA Corporation a
portion of the lands at the University  at  Albany  (approximately  25
acres)  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  and  operating  research,
education, residential, and student  support  facilities  required  to
support  the  academic programs and mission of the State University of
New York. Section 4 would make any contract or lease entered  pursuant
to  this act compliant with section 15-A of the Executive Law. Section
5 states that all work performed on projects authorized by  this  bill
shall  be deemed public work and shall be performed in accordance with
Article 8 of the Labor Law. Section 6 states that the  bill  will  not
waive  or  impair  any  rights or benefits of SUNY employees, and that
they shall continue their work as normal.   Section 7  allows  the  UA
Corporation  to  require  contractors  to  enter  into a project labor
agreement when certain  conditions  are  met.  When  a  project  labor
agreement  is not required, then any contractor, subcontractor, lease,
grant, bond, covenant or  other  agreement  for  a  project  shall  be
awarded  pursuant  to  section 135 of the State Finance Law. Section 8
relates to the grounds and facilities clause of the lease.  Section  9
requires  the  lease  to  include an indemnity provision.   Section 10
delineates the boundaries of the two property parcels  to  be  leased.
Section  11  gives SUNY three years to execute the lease authorized by
this  bill.  Section  12  gives  this  bill   preeminence   over   any
inconsistent laws.

JUSTIFICATION:
The University at Albany Development Corporation (UA Corporation) will
be  created as a not-for-profit New York State corporation established
for the purpose of facilitating educational,  research,  and  economic
development  activities related to the mission of the State University
of New York.   This legislation would allow for  lands  to  be  ground


leased  to  the  UA  Corporation, enabling the University at Albany to
advance its $35 million NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program, which  is
part of a larger "UAlbany Impact" Initiative. The ground lease to this
corporation  is  necessary to facilitate the envisioned public-private
partnerships involved in the  Biomedical  and  Information  Innovation
Research  and  Alumni  Quad/Midtown  Revitalization initiatives.   The
NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program will help finance a portion of the
initiatives, but both initiatives will require the subleasing of space
and  multiple  contracts  and  financing  arrangements  with   private
partners  to  help  fully  finance  and  operate the projects in their
entirety.  These projects will advance the  University's  educational,
research,   and  student  enrichment  goals.  More  specifically,  the
Biomedical and Information Innovation Research initiative will involve
the construction of a building on the Uptown  campus,  the  costs  for
which  will,  in  part,  be  offset  by private research entities. The
University is currently  developing  co-location,  research,  and  job
growth plans with a number of external private sector partners, all of
which  are  preeminent  in their respective fields for health sciences
research.  This will help trigger greater opportunities for  not  only
University  students and faculty, but the entire Capital Region of New
York.   Similarly, the  Alumni  Quad  Revitalization  Initiative  will
involve   the  renovation  and  limited  expansion  --  including  the
development of street-level retail/commercial space -- at  the  Alumni
Quad residence facility, located in the Education District of the City
of Albany.  This area requires an enhanced University presence to help
stabilize  the  neighborhood  and  create  a  more  vibrant community.
Partners for this initiative will likely include the College of  Saint
Rose,  which has provided a letter of support for the project, as well
as several retail and  commercial  vendors.  The  City  of  Albany  is
supportive  as  well.    These  initiatives  are  one part of a larger
UAlbany Impact Plan,  advanced  by  the  University,  which  seeks  to
invigorate  the  University and the Capital Region economy with a bold
multi-year strategy to increase enrollment, hire  additional  faculty,
expand   third-party   funded  research,  and  improve  the  range  of
educational and enrichment programs for  students.  Over  the  next  7
years,  the  UAlbany  Impact Plan is estimated to result in over 1,343
new full-time jobs, with an operating and capital economic  multiplier
of some $4.3 billion.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
The 90th day after it shall have become law.

2011-S5772 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  5772

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 15, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sens. FARLEY, BRESLIN, McDONALD -- read twice and ordered
  printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

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:

  Section  1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that the state
university of New York at Albany, ("University") is  in  need  of  addi-
tional  facilities  to  fulfill  its  legislatively  mandated mission of
research, education, and workforce  training.  Specifically,  additional
instructional,  laboratory,  residential  and student support spaces are
required to support the academic and research programs of the  Universi-
ty,  including  those  necessary to realize a Biomedical and Information
Innovation Research initiative and those  necessary  for  a  growth  and
revitalization  initiative  for the University's Alumni Quad, a residen-
tial complex in the Education District of the  City  of  Albany.    Both
initiatives (hereinafter described as "the project") would be funded, in
part, by active partnerships between government and private industry.
  The  legislature  further  finds  that  these  activities will promote
enhanced research, technology deployment, improved undergraduate  educa-
tion,  neighborhood  revitalization,  and  economic  outreach across the
capital region of New York state.
  The legislature further finds that granting the trustees of the  state
university  of  New  York the authority and power to lease and otherwise
contract to make available grounds and facilities of the campus  of  the
state  university of New York at Albany will help promote and accomplish
these goals.
  S 2. As used in this act "the UA Corporation" shall mean the Universi-
ty at Albany Development Corporation, which  will  be  a  not-for-profit
corporation established for the purpose of facilitating the educational,
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

S. 5772                             2

the state university of New York by constructing, developing and operat-
ing facilities which support economic development, academic and research
activities and the mission of the state university of New York  and  its
University at Albany campus.
  S  3. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the state univer-
sity trustees are hereby authorized and empowered,  without  any  public
bidding,  to  lease  and  otherwise contract to make available to the UA
Corporation a portion of the lands of the state university of  New  York
at  Albany  generally  described as all that real property consisting of
approximately 25 acres of land on the Uptown and Alumni Quad campuses of
the University at Albany, for the purpose of constructing and  operating
research,  education,  residential,  and  student  support facilities to
provide additional instructional, laboratory, residential,  and  student
support spaces required to support the academic programs and the mission
of the state university of New York. Such lease or contract shall be for
a  period  not  exceeding 40 years without any fee simple conveyance and
otherwise upon terms and conditions determined by such trustees, subject
to the approval of the director of  the  division  of  the  budget,  the
attorney  general  and the state comptroller. In the event that the real
property that is the subject of such lease or contract shall cease to be
used for the purpose described in this act, such lease or contract shall
immediately terminate and the real property and any improvements thereon
shall revert to the state university of New York. Any lease or  contract
entered  into  pursuant to this act shall provide that the real property
that is the subject of such lease or contract and any improvements ther-
eon shall revert to the state university of New York on  the  expiration
of such contract or lease.
  S  4. Any contract or lease entered into pursuant to this act shall be
deemed to be a state contract for purposes of article 15-A of the execu-
tive law, and any contractor, subcontractor, lessee or sublessee  enter-
ing into such contract or lease for the construction, demolition, recon-
struction, excavation, rehabilitation, repair, renovation, alteration or
improvement  authorized  pursuant  to  this  act shall be deemed a state
agency for the purposes of article 15-A of the executive law and subject
to the provisions of such article.
  S 5. Notwithstanding any general, special or  local  law  or  judicial
decision  to the contrary, all work performed on a project authorized by
this act where all or any portion thereof involves a lease or  agreement
for  construction,  demolition,  reconstruction,  excavation,  rehabili-
tation, repair, renovation, alteration or improvement  shall  be  deemed
public work and shall be subject to and performed in accordance with the
provisions  of  article 8 of the labor law to the same extent and in the
same manner as a contract of the state,  and  compliance  with  all  the
provisions  of  article  8  of  the  labor  law shall be required of any
lessee, sublessee, contractor and/or  subcontractor  performing  on  the
project,  including  the  enforcement of prevailing wage requirements by
the fiscal officer as defined in paragraph e of subdivision 5 of section
220 of the labor law to the same extent as a contract of the state.
  S 6. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to waive or impair any rights
or benefits of employees of the state university of New York that other-
wise would be available to them pursuant  to  the  terms  of  agreements
between the certified representatives of such employees and the state of
New  York  pursuant  to  article  14  of the civil service law; all work
performed on such property that ordinarily would be performed by employ-
ees subject to article 14 of the civil service law shall continue to  be
performed by such employees.

S. 5772                             3

  S  7. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special, or local
law or judicial decision to the contrary:
  (a)  the  UA  Corporation may require a contractor awarded a contract,
subcontract, lease, grant, bond, covenant or  other  agreement  for  any
single  construction project exceeding ten million dollars in the aggre-
gate, for which more than twenty-five percent of such  aggregate  amount
is  to be paid from appropriations furnished by the state of New York or
the state university of New York, to enter into a project  labor  agree-
ment  during  and  for  the  work  involved  with such project when such
requirement is part of the UA Corporation request for proposals for  the
project  and  when  UA Corporation determines that the record supporting
the decision to enter into such an agreement establishes that the inter-
ests underlying the competitive bidding laws are best met by requiring a
project labor agreement including: obtaining the best work at the lowest
possible price; preventing favoritism, fraud and corruption; the  impact
of  delay;  the  possibility  of  cost savings; and any local history of
labor unrest. For the purposes of this act,  "project  labor  agreement"
shall  mean  work at the property authorized by this act to be leased to
the UA Corporation as described in this act that  involves  the  design,
construction,  reconstruction,  demolition,  excavation, rehabilitation,
repair, renovation, alteration or improvements.
  (b) If the UA Corporation does not require a project labor  agreement,
then  any  contractor,  subcontractor,  lease,  grant, bond, covenant or
other agreements for a project shall be awarded pursuant to section  135
of the state finance law.
  S 8. Without limiting the determination of the terms and conditions of
such  contracts  or  leases,  such  terms and conditions may provide for
leasing,  subleasing,  construction,   reconstruction,   rehabilitation,
improvement,  operation  and management of and provision of services and
assistance and the granting of licenses, easements  and  other  arrange-
ments  with regard to such grounds and facilities by the UA Corporation,
and parties contracting with the UA Corporation, and, in connection with
such activities, the obtaining of funding or financing,  whether  public
or private, unsecured or secured (including, but not limited to, secured
by  leasehold  mortgages and assignments of rents and leases), by the UA
Corporation and parties contracting with  the  UA  Corporation  for  the
purposes of completing the project described in this act.
  S  9.  Such  lease  shall  include  an indemnity provision whereby the
lessee or sublessee promises to indemnify, hold harmless and defend  the
lessor  against all claims, suits, actions, and liability to all persons
on the leased premises, including tenant, tenant's agents,  contractors,
subcontractors,  employees,  customers,  guests, licensees, invitees and
members of the public, for damage to any such person's property, whether
real or personal, or for personal injuries arising out of  tenant's  use
or occupation of the demised premises.
  S  10.  The  property  authorized  by  this act to be leased to the UA
Corporation is generally described as those  parcels  of  real  property
with  improvements  thereon,  consisting  of a total of approximately 25
acres, situated on the Uptown and Alumni campuses of the state universi-
ty of New York at Albany.  The  descriptions  in  this  section  of  the
parcels  to  be  made available pursuant to this act are not meant to be
legal descriptions, but are intended  only  to  generally  identify  the
parcels:
FIRST PARCEL:
  All  or  portions of the tract, piece or parcel of land situate on the
Uptown Campus of the state university of New York at Albany, portions of

S. 5772                             4

which lie in the Town of Guilderland, County of  Albany,  State  of  New
York  and portions of which lie in the City of Albany, County of Albany,
State of New York, the total consisting  of  approximately  14.5  acres,
subject  to  any  and  all easements, restrictions, and rights of way of
record, and being more particularly bounded  on  the  south  by  Justice
Drive,  on  the  west  by  Chemistry Lane and Life Sciences Lane, on the
north by State Drive, and on the east by University Drive.
SECOND PARCEL:
  All or portions of that tract, piece or parcel of land situate on  the
Alumni  Quad Campus of the state university of New York at Albany in the
City of Albany, County of Albany,  State  of  New  York,  consisting  of
approximately   10.5   acres,   subject   to   any  and  all  easements,
restrictions, and rights of way of record, and being  more  particularly
bounded  on  the  south by Western Avenue, on the west by O'Leary Boule-
vard, on the north by State Street, and on the east by Ontario Street.
  S 11. The state university of New York shall not lease lands described
in this act unless any such lease shall be executed within  three  years
of the effective date of this act.
  S  12. Insofar as the provisions of this act are inconsistent with the
provisions of any law, general, special or local, the provisions of this
act shall be controlling.
  S 13. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after  it  shall
have become a law.

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Senate Bill S5772

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Sponsored By

Hugh T. Farley