ASSEMBLY, No. 4707

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED JUNE 26, 2024

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

Assemblywoman  CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

Assemblywoman  ELIANA PINTOR MARIN

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

     Authorizes State Treasurer to sell as surplus certain real property and improvements in City of Camden in Camden County.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

An Act authorizing the State Treasurer to sell certain surplus real property and improvements owned by the State in the City of Camden, Camden County, and repealing P.L.2013, c.22.

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

     1.  a.  Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Department of the Treasury, on behalf of the Department of Corrections, is authorized to sell and convey as surplus real property, all of the State's right, title, and interest in and to the property known as the former Riverfront State Prison, in the City of Camden, Camden County, which contains 16� acres of land and improvements also known as Block 79, Lot 13 on the tax map of the City of Camden. 

     The New Jersey Economic Development Authority, in consultation with the City of Camden and the Department of the Treasury, shall determine the boundaries of the NJEDA Site and the City Site, as those Sites are defined in subsection e. of this section, within the 16� acres of land and improvements of  Block 79, Lot 13 on the tax map of the City of Camden, prior to the sale and conveyance by the Department of the Treasury. 

     b.  The NJEDA Site shall be sold and conveyed to the authority by the department  for the lesser of $5,000,000 or the appraised value at the time of the sale and conveyance. 

     c.  The City Site shall be sold and conveyed to the City of Camden by the department for one dollar.  As a condition of the sale and conveyance to the city, the city shall sell and convey all of the city's right, title, and interest in and to the Southwest Site, as that Site is defined in subsection e. of this section, by deed to the authority.  The sale and conveyance of the City Site to the City of Camden shall be on the condition that City Site be preserved solely for public use as a park or for recreational activities, or both, and for a right of way. 

     The City Site shall be sold and conveyed to the City by the department in an "as is" condition with no responsibility assumed or expenditure made by the State prior to, or as a condition of, the execution of the sale and conveyance for any repair, reconstruction, or renovation of the land, buildings, or structures on the City Site made necessary due to ordinary or extraordinary use, wear and tear, neglect, deterioration due to exposure to the elements, vandalism, or age, or for any infrastructure, habitability, life safety or building code upgrade or improvement to, nor any demolition on, the City Site. 

     d.  The sale and conveyance of the NJEDA Site and City Site authorized in this section shall not require the approval of the State House Commission or any further approval of the Legislature.

     e.  Following the sale and conveyance of the NJEDA Site and the Southwest Site to the authority by the Department of the Treasury and the City of Camden, the authority shall sell and convey the NJEDA Site and the Southwest Site though one or more transactions.  The NJEDA Site and the Southwest Site may be sold and conveyed by the authority together with other property owned or to be acquired by the authority adjacent to or near the NJEDA Site and the Southwest Site.  A sale and conveyance by the authority in accordance with this section shall be in accordance with the terms and conditions as the authority shall deem reasonable, and those  terms and conditions may require the redevelopment of the NJEDA Site and the Southwest Site.

     f.  As used in this section:

     "City Site" means the portion of the Riverfront State Prison property on which the City of Camden, the Division of Property Management and Construction within the Department of the Treasury, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority have constructed and have maintained and operated a park and roadway improvements through a memorandum of understanding and license agreement.

     "NJEDA Site" means the portion of the Riverfront State Prison property owned by the State excluding the City Site.

     "Southwest Site" means the portion of the Riverfront State Prison property at the southwest corner of State Street and Delaware Avenue in the City of Camden owned by the City of Camden.

     2.  P.L.2013, c.22 is repealed.

     3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

     In 2009, the Riverfront State Prison was closed.  A law enacted in 2013, P.L.2013, c.22, authorized the sale and conveyance of that property by the Department of the Treasury to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority so that the authority could sell the property in accordance with specific procedures set forth by the State House Commission at a meeting held on November 22, 2010.  The authority has been unable to sell the property following the process set forth at that meeting, and therefore never received the title for the property from the State.  This bill again requires the sale of the property by the State and will allow the authority to follow its standard real estate development process as it pertains to the sale and conveyance of the property it receives from the State and the City of Camden.

     This bill authorizes the State Treasurer to sell and convey all of the State's interest within the former Riverfront State Prison in the City of Camden, Camden County a 16� acres parcel of land and all improvements.  The property has been declared to be surplus to the needs of the State.  A portion of the land referred to as the NJEDA Site will be sold and conveyed to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and a portion of the land referred to as the City Site will be sold and conveyed to the City of Camden. 

     The NJEDA Site will be sold and conveyed to the authority for the lesser of $5,000,000 or the appraised value at the time of the sale.  The City Site will be sold and conveyed to the City of Camden for one dollar, on the condition that the city sell and convey the city's right, title, and interest in and to the Southwest Site to the authority. 

     The bill requires the authority, in consultation with the City of Camden and the Department of the Treasury, to determine the boundaries of the NJEDA Site and the City Site.  The conveyance of real property by the State Treasurer to the authority and the city will not require the approval of the State House Commission or any further approval of the Legislature.

     The authority can thereafter sell the NJEDA Site and the Southwest Site in accordance with terms and conditions set by the authority.

     The NJEDA Site, City Site, and Southwest Site are defined in the bill.

     This bill repeals P.L.2013, c.22 which authorized the sale of the site of the former Riverfront State Prison in the City of Camden as State surplus property to the NJEDA for public auction to a prequalified developer.