Reimagine MCI Concord: Underpinning Redevelopment Strategies in Market Realities

Assessing the potential for future redevelopment ensuring the vision is not only reflective of community aspirations but financially sustainable and capable of being realized.

MCI-Concord was Massachusetts’ oldest men’s correctional facility until its closure in 2024. The Town of Concord and the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) engaged our team to lead a planning and public engagement process to thoughtfully reimagine its future. The redevelopment effort aims to reconcile the site’s complex history while addressing local needs and advancing the Commonwealth’s goals for housing, sustainability, and community well-being. U3 and Landwise (now combined operating as U3) worked within a multi-disciplinary team, that reported to the MCIConcord Advisory Board.

U3’s first task was to conduct a market analysis to assess the potential for future development at the MCI-Concord site. Findings indicated strong demand for mixed-use development on the site over the next 10-years, with current market dynamics favoring residential uses. Near-term commercial demand is anticipated to be driven more by hospitality than by office or lab uses.

Next the team modeled the financial feasibility of each proposed redevelopment scenario. The most feasible scenario prioritized revenue-generating residential and commercial development, while other scenarios included higher levels of public amenities like civic and open space uses that are likely to require additional subsidy given the high upfront costs in preparing the site. U3 also projected the annual fiscal impact each scenario was likely to have on the Town by projecting revenues and costs.