A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a recommendation from the Planning Board to approve the disposition of a leasehold interest in 420 parking spaces and approximately 9,000 square feet of ground floor retail in the First Street Garage

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS PLANNING BOARD CITY HALL ANNEX, 344 BROADWAY, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139 Date: September 3, 2019 Subject: Disposition of a leasehold interest in 420 parking spaces and approximately 9,000 square feet of ground floor retail in the First Street Garage. Recommendation: The Planning Board recommends APPROVAL: To the Honorable, the City Council, Pursuant to the City's Municipal Disposition Ordinance, Chapter 2.110 of the Cambridge Municipal Code (the "Disposition Ordinance"), the Planning Board held a public hearing on August 13, 2019 on the proposed disposition of a leasehold interest in 420 parking spaces and approximately 9,000 square feet of ground floor retail (together the "Leasehold Interest") in the First Street Garage, located at 55 First Street and owned by the City of Cambridge, to the developer Leggatt McCall Properties, which was conditionally awarded the bid pursuant to G.L. Chapter 30B subject to the review and approval of the proposed disposition of the Leasehold Interest by the City Council. Prior to the hearing, the Planning Board received and reviewed a report from the City Manager on the proposed disposition. After hearing a presentation by City of Cambridge staff and testimony from members of the public, the Board hereby provides the following comments and recommendation. Board members noted that the First Street Garage was originally constructed by the City with the intent of serving employees and other users of various buildings in the developing neighborhood, including the adjacent Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse building at 40 Thorndike Street the "Sullivan Courthouse"), as well as providing additional parking opportunities to neighborhood residents and the general public. After the government functions in the Sullivan Courthouse were relocated, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts engaged in a disposition process for the Sullivan Courthouse and selected Leggatt McCall Properties from among various bidders for the property. The Planning Board reviewed the proposed use of the for the Sullivan Courthouse site over the course of many public hearings, receiving much public testimony, and issued special permits in 2014 authorizing the conversion of the existing non-conforming building to office, residential, and retail use. The Board's Special Permit Decision (PB-288) was upheld by courts at various levels. Page 1 of 3.

City of Cambridge, MA • Planning Board Recommendation Disposition of Leasehold Interest in First Street Garage At that time, the Board specifically identified the First Street Garage as the preferred location to provide off-site parking for the converted Sullivan Courthouse building. Board members remarked that because the First Street Garage had been intended to serve users of the Sullivan Courthouse, it makes sense for the building's new users to continue to use the First Street Garage. Although the prior government uses did not have formal long-term leases, the lease arrangement that is currently proposed would be required by zoning for the new uses and is consistent with other commercial uses in the area that use the First Street Garage to meet their parking needs. When reviewing the prior special permit, Board members also considered the First Street Garage to be the parking location that would result in the least traffic impact on the neighborhood, and carefully considered what the required number of parking spaces would be to balance the demands of the Sullivan Courthouse project with the desire to manage transportation impacts. The Board believes it is rational to advance the parking plan that was envisioned during its review of the Sullivan Courthouse project and is required by the Board's prior approval of the special permit granted to Leggatt McCall. The Board also reviewed the information provided in the City Manager's report, and accepts the conclusion that there is adequate capacity in the First Street Garage to dispose of the proposed Leasehold Interest without compromising other City needs. The City Manager's report, supplemented by testimony from the Director of Traffic, Parking, and Transportation, provided a through explanation of how the proposed lease arrangement would be managed and what the expected impact would be on other users and on overall availability of parking in the First Street Garage, also accounting for other parking options that exist in the area. Board members noted that while development has increased over the lifetime of the First Street Garage, parking rates overall have been declining due to broader trends and City policies that discourage single- occupancy vehicle commuting, resulting in the City's ability to make more efficient use of its parking facilities. Finally, Board members agreed that the sole proposal from Leggatt McCall Properties will provide substantial compensation for the Leasehold Interest, valued at approximately $77.4 million in public benefits. In addition to the parking fees themselves, the proposal will provide a package of broader benefits to the City and the immediate area, including the creation of 24 units of affordable housing in the Sullivan Courthouse project plus additional payments to the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust, programs to serve seniors and other community members, and the reactivation of the long-underutilized retail space at the ground floor of the First Street Garage. Board members did not view this proposed disposition of the Leasehold Interest as a "giveaway" to a private owner, but as an appropriate means of using a City asset to produce benefits for the public while continuing to serve the First Street Garage's intended function as a municipal parking garage. Based on the proposal's consistency with plans that were previously approved by the Planning Board, the adequacy of the First Street Garage to accommodate the proposed Leasehold Interest without adversely impacting other uses, and the substantial compensation that is proposed in exchange for the Leasehold Interest, the Planning Board recommends that the City Council approve the proposed disposition. Moreover, Board members expressed sensitivity to the concerns expressed by many individuals at the public hearing regarding the health, safety, and Page 2 of 3 September 3, 2019

City of Cambridge, MA • Planning Board Recommendation Disposition of Leasehold Interest in First Street Garage economic impacts of the Sullivan Courthouse building's vacant condition, and hopes that the proposed disposition will allow its rehabilitation to proceed in a timely manner. Respectfully submitted for the Planning Board, Catherine Preston Connolly, Chall Sten Prude onl Page 3 of 3 September 3, 2019