Take a tour of the prison – NBC Boston

Massachusetts closes another prison, this time in Bridgewater.

The Department of Correction on Thursday announced “plans to close housing operations at the Old Colony Correctional Center, a minimum-security prison for men,” saying $2.6 million in capital expenditures would be required to keep the facility open.

The facility holds 70 people. The facility was built to house approximately 160 people.

“The strategic decision to cease operations at OCCC minimums and relocate the population and staff is based on a careful assessment of the facility's age, maintenance needs and required renovations,” the DOC said.

The Department of Correction described the facility as a 40-year-old prefabricated modular structure located on a campus adjacent to Bridgewater State Hospital, the Massachusetts Treatment Center and the Old Colony Correctional Center-Medium Security Facility.

The other three facilities will remain open and the DOC plans to transfer 26 correctional officers from the minimum security facility to the medium security facility on the same campus.

MCI Concord is closing and all inmates have already been transferred. Join us for a tour of the oldest men's prison in Massachusetts – including cells, day rooms and the chapel Mother Teresa once visited. Follow NBC10 Boston on… Instagram: instagram.com/nbc10boston TikTok: tiktok.com/@nbc10boston Facebook: facebook.com/NBC10Boston X: twitter.com/NBC10Boston

The announcement comes months after the Commonwealth announced the closure of MCI Concord.

Officials told NBC10 Boston that the decision to close MCI Concord, Massachusetts' oldest prison, was motivated by the declining prison population across the state as well as the astronomical maintenance costs of the aging prison, which dates back to 1878.

At the beginning of the year, the Department of Correction's statewide prison population was 6,148 inmates, a 43% decrease from the 10,813 inmates behind bars on the same day in 2015.

Researchers and officials have cited a number of factors to explain the decline, including crime prevention, treatment and better reintegration support.

The prison system appears to be changing — becoming more humane and placing more emphasis on finding the right accountability for each individual, officials say. Follow NBC10 Boston on… Instagram: instagram.com/nbc10boston TikTok: tiktok.com/@nbc10boston Facebook: facebook.com/NBC10Boston X: twitter.com/NBC10Boston

Matt Fortin of NBC10 Boston contributed to this report.