Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/ WBZ NewsRadio
CONCORD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Concord closed June 30, leaving the state to decide what to do with the plot of land it has sat on since 1878.
Department of Corrections Commissioner Shawn Jenkins said MCI-Concord, the state's oldest men's prison, shut down because its population has dropped by about 50 percent in recent years.
"I wouldn't describe it as a victory lap, but it's probably emblematic of the trends that we're seeing," Jenkins said.
Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/ WBZ NewsRadio
Read More: Massachusetts' Oldest Men's Prison, MCI-Concord, To Close By Summer
Governor Maura Healey has hinted she wants the property to be turned into housing, but no hard plans have been ironed out.
Her administration told WBZ NewsRadio there are no plans to house migrants in the facility in the interim.
The Massachusetts legislature still needs to formally hand the property over to the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance before any construction can get underway.
"It is a historical site and it would be nice to keep that memorialized in some way moving forward, whatever the long term decisions may be," Jenkins said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.
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