MCI-Concord Concept Planning, Economic and Market Analysis, and Proposed Zoning

In January 2024, Governor Maura Healey announced that MCI-Concord – the state’s oldest men’s correctional facility – will be decommissioned, and the state property will be sold and redeveloped. The Town of Concord and the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) enlisted Agency for a “sprint” planning and visioning process for the facility. This redevelopment offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine a site with a complex history, transforming it into a place that serves and uplifts current and future communities. Over a quick 5 month process, we worked with the client team, stakeholders, and our incredible team to thoughtfully reimagine the site’s future.

The resulting Plan presents a range of site scenarios created with input from Concord residents, workers, individuals connected to the former prison, and surrounding communities. Scenarios explored a mix of land uses—open space, community and civic uses, housing, and commercial development—and were evaluated for financial feasibility, fiscal impacts, infrastructure, mobility, density, and implementation timelines, helping the public understand how their preferences could shape the project.

As the site moves beyond its historical role, centering stories is essential. Beyond presenting development scenarios, the Plan offers guidance on cultural and historical storytelling, highlighting significant events such as Malcolm X’s incarceration and outlining contemplative journeys that can be woven into future scenarios. While its history is painful, this project neither erases the past nor exploits the former prison as a marketing gimmick. Instead, it honors the experiences of those connected to the site, sharing their stories and inviting them to help shape its future.

This project is now part of a broader movement of prison closures across Massachusetts and presents a rare opportunity to reimagine how these sites can serve their communities. Guided by a community-led vision in partnership with local and state government, MCI Concord offers a model, both in process and in ideation, for transforming spaces with difficult histories into places of learning, reflection, and growth. By engaging the past with honesty and care, former prisons like MCI Concord can educate visitors, spark meaningful dialogue, and foster opportunities for healing.

Agency led planning, landscape architecture, urban design, zoning, and community engagement alongside a multi-disciplinary team. Merge Architects, with expertise in housing, led urban design studies. Drawing on their extensive experience in repurposing prisons, Designing Justice + Designing Spaces focused on community engagement strategy and provides guidance on historic preservation. Buro Happold focused on climate, energy, sustainability, and mobility vision, while Nitsch Engineering provided civil and transportation engineering expertise. U3 Advisors led economic development with a focus on impact and housing, working closely with Landwise Advisors, who provided economic development support.

The Town of Concord is now moving forward on the implementation steps laid out in the plan to inform their town zoning. To learn more about the exciting process and see how you can get involved, click here.

Select Awards
APA-MA Medium Sized Community Planning Project Award. 2025