MCI-Concord, the oldest men’s correctional facility in the state that opened in the 19th century, officially closed Wednesday amid a historically low prison population, the Massachusetts Department of Correction said.
The prison closed permanently as a part of an ongoing initiative to reimagine correctional facilities in Massachusetts, with plans to enhance operational efficiency, advance cost-saving solutions, and deepen investments in programming and services, the Correction Department said in a press release Wednesday.
“Closing MCI-Concord demonstrates the Department’s commitment to responsibly managing taxpayer resources while remaining dedicated to our rehabilitative mission,” interim Correction Department Commissioner Shawn Jenkins said in the release.
At the beginning of 2024, Massachusetts’ incarceration rate was lower than anywhere else in the country and plummeted more rapidly than the national average, according to a report by MassINC and Boston Indicators, a research team at the Boston Foundation. Within the past decade, the Commonwealth nearly halved its incarceration rate.
In light of this report, the department announced on Jan. 24 plans to effectively close the prison. The decision came based on a thorough assessment of decreased housing needs and the facility’s high maintenance costs, the department said.
The prison’s closure will not end Concord’s long history in the state correctional system. The Northeastern Correctional Center, a minimum-security/prerelease facility located in West Concord, is not affected by the closing.
The Department of Correction acknowledged in a press release that the “aging infrastructure” of the prison, which opened in 1878, “has become too costly to maintain and requires significant investments.”
MCI-Concord is located on approximately 37 acres and includes 18 buildings. The closure now allows redevelopment for “non-correctional purposes” and “to the benefit of the surrounding community,” the department said.
Since the announcement of the closure, Concord residents have ventured possibilities of how the property can be redeveloped. Some officials have also pondered the idea of repurposing the property into housing.
The Healey administration has “outlined key priorities, including addressing pressing housing and climate change concerns,” according to an MCI-Concord overview shared July 8 by the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance.
The Correction Department will inspect and maintain MCI-Concord regularly until final redevelopment plans are made, Scott J. Croteau, spokesperson for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said in an email.
“We recognize the value of the property to our partners in the local community,” Croteau said. “Under this plan, the DOC intends to dispose of the property and made available for non-correctional purposes.”
MCI-Concord is not being considered for an emergency assistance shelter or safety net site, Croteau added.
Under state law, closing a correctional facility and disposing of the property requires approval of the Legislature. The Healey administration detailed plans for the facility in the fiscal 2025 budget.
The administration proposed that closing MCI-Concord will save nearly $16 million in operating costs and eliminate the $190 million it costs to fund capital projects for decarbonization, cooling, and deferred maintenance at the facility.
Before closing, MCI-Concord housed approximately 300 individuals who were incarcerated, operating at 50% capacity, the Correction Department said in its initial announcement in January.
As of June 28, these individuals went through the standard reclassification process and were reassigned to facilities that provide the security, service, and programming that best fit individual rehabilitation goals, the department said.
Material from the State House News Service was used in this report.
Sabrina Lam can be reached at sabrina.lam@globe.com.