WHEREAS:	Leggat McCall Properties has requested that the City of Cambridge ("City") make available for disposition a long-term leasehold interest to Leggatt McCall of four-hundred twenty (420) parking spaces and a portion of the ground floor retail space at the City-owned First Street Garage, located on the  east side of Thorndike Street between Second Street and First Street (the "Property"), in order to satisfy its asserted parking needs in association with its planned redevelopment of the former Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse at 40 Thorndike Street, and to improve and manage first floor retail space at the Property to contribute to the vitality of the area.  Leggatt McCall states in its letter that one of its goals in improving the retail space would be to secure a retail grocery store as a tenant there, which Leggatt McCall would manage as lessor through a master lease arrangement with the grocery store as lessee; and
WHEREAS:	Potential advantages to the City from such a disposition include:  increased parking space revenue from the under-utilized parking garage; increased revenue from new businesses locating in the retail space in the Property; the provision of valuable retail services to area residents (such as a grocery store); making the First Street area more vibrant; and reducing the City's administrative burden in managing the retail space at the Property; and
WHEREAS:	Chapter 30B of the Massachusetts General Laws requires that the City secure appraisals for the value of the proposed leasehold interest and issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) from parties that may be interested in acquiring a leasehold interest according to the conditions set forth by the City in the RFP.  A winning bidder would be selected, but the eventual disposition of the leasehold interest would be conditioned upon completion of the additional process set forth below; and
WHEREAS:	Chapter 2.110 of the City of Cambridge Municipal Code (the "Disposition Ordinance"), outlines a process required for the City to dispose of City-owned property, which will result in a "fair analysis of how the greatest public benefit can be obtained from the City property in question."  The City Manager is required to convene a community meeting to discuss the matter and submit a detailed report to the City Council, the Planning Board and the City Clerk.  The City Council would then refer the matter to separate public hearings by the Planning Board and the City Council, after which the City Council must vote by a two-thirds majority to approve disposition of the leasehold interest at an agreed-upon price.  If the vote were to fail at that time, then there would be no disposition of a leasehold interest in the Property; and
WHEREAS	An action by the City Council to declare this leasehold interest available for disposition would initiate a process, lasting approximately six to eight months, during which the value of the leasehold intertest would be appraised, a formal proposal would be solicited from the potential master lessee, and public hearings would be held to evaluate the proposal.  At the end of this process, the City Council would decide whether or not to dispose of a leasehold interest at a specified price, along with any other terms and conditions of the master lease.; now therefore be it
ORDERED:	That the City Council hereby declares the 420 parking spaces and the first floor retail space at the First Street Garage Property available for disposition by lease on terms and conditions satisfactory to the City, and authorizes the City Manager to initiate a process pursuant to Chapter 30B of the Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 2.110 of the Cambridge Municipal Code, and other applicable laws, during which the value of the leasehold interest will be appraised, formal proposals will be solicited from interested parties, and public hearings will be held, which will result in a fair analysis of how the greatest public benefit can be obtained from the disposition of a leasehold interest and assist the City Council in determining whether and on what terms to dispose of a leasehold interest at the Property.