Title 37
Public Property and Works

Chapter 7
Management and Disposal of Property

§ 37-7-3. Reconveyance, lease, or sale of land acquired by condemnation.

Whenever in the opinion of the acquiring authority any land or other real property or interest therein taken by condemnation is no longer required for the purpose for which it was taken, the acquiring authority, with the approval of the state properties committee, may, with the consent of the person or persons from whom the land, property, or interest was obtained, or their heirs, successors, or assigns, convey the property or any part thereof, with or without suitable restrictions, by executing and recording a deed thereof. The deed shall be executed on behalf of the state by the acquiring authority, approved as to substance by the director of administration, and approved as to form by the attorney general. The recorded deed shall thereby revest the title to the land, property or interest therein to the persons, their heirs, successors, or assigns, in whom it was vested at the time of the taking, and the fair market value of the land or property or interest therein so conveyed at the time of the conveyance shall be considered in mitigation of damages in any proceedings instituted on account of the taking. Or, the acquiring authority, with the approval of the state properties committee, may lease or sell and convey the property, with or without suitable restrictions, for consideration not less than that paid for it by the acquiring authority or not less than its appraised value as determined by the state properties committee at the time of the leasing or selling, by executing and delivering a lease or deed thereof, which lease or deed shall be executed on behalf of the state by the acquiring authority, approved as to substance by the director of administration, and approved as to form by the attorney general; provided, however, the person or persons in whom the title to the land or property or interest therein was vested at the time it was acquired under the provisions of this chapter shall, if living, have the right to lease, purchase, or reinvest him or herself or themselves, as the case may be, of the land or property or interest therein before the property may be leased, sold, or conveyed as provided by this section. A prior right shall be conclusively presumed to have been waived in the event that a written offer to lease, sell, or convey the property, containing the terms and conditions of the offer, shall be sent by registered or certified mail to the last known address of the person or persons, and the offer shall not have been accepted within thirty (30) days from the date of the mailing. In the event the prior right to purchase or lease the land or real property shall be waived by the person or persons in whom the title to the land or property or interest therein was vested, the city or town wherein the land or property is situated shall have the second right to purchase or lease the land and property upon the same terms and conditions as the acquiring authority was willing to sell or lease the land or property to the vested person or persons thereof. A second right to purchase or lease the land or property shall be conclusively presumed to have been waived in the event a written offer to sell or lease the same, containing the terms of the offer, shall have been sent by registered or certified mail to the city or town clerk, as the case may be, wherein the land and property are situated and the offer shall not have been accepted within thirty (30) days from the date of the mailing.