PRINTER'S NO. 1640
No. 1248 Session of 1985
INTRODUCED BY BELL, FUMO, LOEPER AND SALVATORE, NOVEMBER 27,
1985
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, NOVEMBER 27, 1985
AN ACT
1 Authorizing and directing the Department of General Services,
2 with the approval of the Governor and the Secretary of
3 Environmental Resources, to sell and convey to the City of
4 Philadelphia a tract of reclaimed land between the old
5 shoreline and present dike line extension of the Delaware
6 River in the Township of Tinicum, Delaware County,
7 Pennsylvania, contiguous to and having common boundaries with
8 lands presently owned by the City of Philadelphia, and to
9 quitclaim other areas near said land taken by the City of
10 Philadelphia for the Philadelphia International Airport.
11 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
12 hereby enacts as follows:
13 Section 1. The Department of General Services, with the
14 approval of the Governor and the Secretary of Environmental
15 Resources, is authorized and directed on behalf of the
16 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to sell and convey to the City of
17 Philadelphia, a municipal corporation of Pennsylvania, its
18 successors and assigns, for a consideration equal to the fair
19 market value as determined by an appraisal of the Department of
20 General Services, the following tract of reclaimed land situate
21 along the Delaware River, in the Township of Tinicum, County of
1 Delaware, Pennsylvania, bounded and described as follows:
2 FORMER TURNING BASIN
3 PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
4 All that certain tract, piece or parcel of land situate in
5 the Township of Tinicum, County of Delaware, Commonwealth of
6 Pennsylvania being a Former Turning Basin of the United States
7 Emergency Shipping Board Fleet Corporation and now filled and
8 being more particularly described as follows, to wit:
9 Beginning at a point for a corner in the low water line of
10 the Delaware River as established September 12, 1917, and being
11 a corner of a Patent granted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
12 to the United States Emergency Shipping Board Fleet Corporation
13 as recorded in Patent Book H, Volume 79, Page 37, etc.; thence
14 extending from said point of beginning along the said low water
15 line of the Delaware River, along the said Patent to the United
16 States Emergency Shipping Board Fleet Corporation, north 55
17 degrees 08 minutes 20 seconds west a distance of 412.92 feet to
18 a point for a corner; thence extending still along same, north
19 74 degrees 50 minutes 00 seconds west a distance of 1181.40 feet
20 to a point for a corner; thence still along same, north 84
21 degrees 00 minutes 00 seconds west a distance of 828.00 feet to
22 a point for a corner; thence still along same, north 63 degrees
23 00 minutes 00 seconds west a distance of 507.00 feet to a point
24 for a corner at the low water line of the Delaware River as
25 established in 1885; thence extending along the said low water
26 line of 1885, north 79 degrees 12 minutes 00 seconds west a
27 distance of 750.00 feet to a point for a corner; thence
28 extending still along same, north 85 degrees 10 minutes 00
29 seconds west a distance of 531.52 feet to a point for a corner
30 in the westerly edge of the Former Turning Basin and being the
19850S1248B1640 - 2 -
1 northeasterly corner of a Patent granted by the Commonwealth of
2 Pennsylvania to American International Corporation as recorded
3 in Patent Book H, Volume 78, Page 262, etc.; thence extending
4 along the said westerly line of the Former Turning Basin, along
5 the said Patent to American International Corporation, south 27
6 degrees 04 minutes 15 seconds east a distance of 2431.49 feet to
7 a point for a corner at the former stone dike of a former island
8 known as Little Smith Island, now filled and incorporated with
9 other lands adjacent and contiguous hereto; thence extending
10 along the said former stone dike line as extended along the
11 southerly line of the Former Turning Basin, north 69 degrees 00
12 minutes 40 seconds east a distance of 3121.16 feet to the first
13 mentioned point and place of beginning.
14 Containing within said bounds, 96.526 acres of land, more or
15 less, exclusive of that portion of the above described land
16 being in the vicinity of the former 14 1/2 acre island known as
17 Little Smith Island which was surveyed for the Commonwealth as
18 Printz Island and was granted by Patent of the Commonwealth of
19 Pennsylvania to Thomas and Aubrey Smith as recorded in Patent
20 Book H, Volume 43, Page 321, etc., on February 13, 1841. And
21 said island was subsequently dredged for the said Former Turning
22 Basin and since refilled along with other lands now or formerly
23 of the City of Philadelphia, adjacent to and contiguous with the
24 above described tract of land.
25 Section 2. The Department of General Services with the
26 approval of the Governor and the Secretary of Environmental
27 Resources is also hereby authorized to release and quitclaim for
28 nominal consideration any right, title or interest of the
29 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (riparian or otherwise) in, to and
30 for all the land west of the above described tract within the
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1 bounds of the acreage condemned by the City of Philadelphia by
2 virtue of ordinance approved December 18, 1945, (page 535), as
3 amended by ordinance approved February 4, 1947, (page 39), and
4 under proceedings to No. 175 1/2, September Term, 1947, in the
5 Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County, for the Philadelphia
6 Southwest Airport (now Philadelphia International Airport); and
7 also that land condemned by the City of Philadelphia by virtue
8 of ordinance approved November 22, 1955, (page 862), as the
9 property of or claimed by Marion A. Crothers; Philadelphia,
10 Baltimore and Washington R.R. Co. and Tinicum Real Estate
11 Holding Corp., for the Philadelphia International Airport.
12 Section 3. The deed of conveyance and quitclaim deed shall
13 be approved as provided by law and shall be executed by the
14 Secretary of General Services in the name of the Commonwealth of
15 Pennsylvania.
16 Section 4. Costs and fees incidental to the conveyance and
17 quitclaim shall be borne by the grantee.
18 Section 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
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