Mass. will close its oldest men's prison, MCI-Concord, by summer

State officials are closing the oldest men's prison in Massachusetts because of a steep decline in the number of men in custody, the Department of Correction announced Wednesday.

MCI-Concord, a medium-security facility that opened in 1878, will close this summer.

The DOC will begin moving the nearly 300 men held there and correctional officers to other state prisons, with a goal of completing the transfers by the summer, a spokesman said in an emailed statement.

The closure of MCI-Concord is part of Gov. Healey's proposed budget for the next fiscal. The governor's proposal estimates that closing the prison will save $16 million and avoid spending $190 million on improving the facility.

"This proposal underscores the Department's commitment to responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources while ensuring the fulfillment of our rehabilitative mission," said DOC Commissioner Carol Mici in a press release.

The prison is operating at about 50% capacity, according to the department's statement.

"Incarceration rates have continued to decline in Massachusetts," said state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, co-chair of the the legislature's joint committee on the judiciary. "Given the state of a growing number of our prisons, the buildings are so old, that I think part of the factor here was the significant cost it would have taken to make improvements to these facilities at a time when the prison population continues to decline.

Prisoners' advocates praised the move and said they hope the savings will be put back into programming, especially to help those incarcerated transition to life after prison.

"The time is now to reduce our carceral footprint and invest in rehabilitation, re-entry, and community-based support systems," said Jesse White, policy director at Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts.

After those in custody are moved out of the prison, the property will "be made available for potential redevelopment," according to the DOC.

While unveiling her budget proposal Wednesday, Healey said the state will be meeting with the community and other stakeholders about what will be done with the site and said closing the prison is "a matter of justice" that reflects the priorities of her administration.

"This is important not just for cost savings," Healey said. "I have talked for a long time about identifying state properties that we could repurpose and use for housing, for other things."

In the past decade, the number of prisoners in Massachusetts has dropped by almost 50%. In 2013 there were more than 11,400 people in custody of the Department of Correction. In 2023, there were just over 6,000 people in the department's custody.

Last June, the state closed MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole, citing a steep drop in the number of prisoners. At the time, the Department of Correction said Cedar Junction was operating at 68% capacity and the state prison population was the lowest it had been in 35 years. That closure involved moving Cedar Junction’s reception and diagnostic center to Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center where prisoners are first sent to be classified based on their potential security risk.