MCI-Acton redevelopment report raises thorny questions

It could cost tens of millions of dollars to get the former MCI-Acton prison site ready for redevelopment. 

Residents want a mix of housing and businesses, but the economy is in flux. And will Commonwealth Avenue fly over Route 2? 

One year into prison reuse planning, town leaders are marking the milestone in the form of a new report from their planning consultant. As the state mothballs the prison, and as locals consider what’s next, they’re also testing sharp messages for Beacon Hill. 

MCI-Acton Advisory Board member John Boynton said the site is “not wildly dissimilar” to the Superfund site at 2229 Main Street.

“The situation is that for 150 years, this piece of land in Acton has been under the care and stewardship of the state, and this is the way they’ve left it,” said Select Board Chair and fellow panelist Mark Howell in a recent advisory board meeting. 

“We shouldn’t be too shy about naming that and saying, ‘What are you going to do about it?’” 

Acton housing by the numbers

Nearly 50% of Acton’s renters and 25% of homeowners spent more than 30% of their income on housing in 2022.

92% of Acton jobs are held by out-of-town residents.

Source: Agency Landscape + Planning MCI-Acton Vision Plan

Report details

A 94-page report from Agency Landscape + Planning capped a sprint to collect community input before a state budget earmark expired.

Agency reviewed 83 acres around the prison but found 54 acres available for development. The soonest construction could start, Agency said, is 2028. 

Concordians and state figures largely agree that the site should have some housing. Consultants said affordability is key. 

Some administrative prison buildings could host housing. The prison’s former gym and foundry could house businesses.

However, cell blocks would be hard to repurpose due to their layout and “history as spaces of incarceration,” the report said.

Town officials hope the prison’s wastewater treatment plant will relieve some of Acton’s sewer capacity crunch. Other infrastructure, including a network of steam tunnels, isn’t mapped in state materials and could pose a problem. 

Among other challenges:

• New development will require stormwater upgrades. 
• The wastewater plant needs $25 million to run at full capacity.
• Demolition could cost $18 million.
• Environmental cleanup costs are unknown. 

When permitted housing developments on Baker Avenue and Forest Ridge Road come online, projections estimate Acton schools will have room for 80 students from development at MCI-Acton and elsewhere. 

Route 2 questions

Agency noted efforts to redesign the Route 2 rotary outside the prison and said local officials must coordinate with the state. 

One MassDOT option would route Commonwealth Avenue over Route 2 with a web of ramps. 

However, Howell said state designs presented in a recent quarterly meeting didn’t look like the concepts in the Agency plan. “Right there, there’s kind of a major disconnect,” Howell told the Select Board on June 30. 

Howell said it could take five years to finish Route 2 designs. But officials should have a “pretty good idea” of the eventual route within three to six months. 

In an interview, state Sen. Michael Barrett (D-Lexington) said Route 2 plans will be crucial to determine the “outer boundaries” of MCI-Acton redevelopment. He said MassDOT has been “somewhat coy” about plans so far and that communication has been frustrating. 

He pinned much of the blame on President Donald Trump, though, and said shaky federal funding is muddying the highway vision. 

State earmark

At the July MCI-Acton Advisory Board meeting, Select Board member Mary Hartman said Agency’s school capacity discussion was “oversimplified” and that she wants more analysis. 

Howell said he was surprised by high remediation costs and said the town needs more clarity.

Unlike the Superfund site — which was abandoned by its polluters — Howell said Acton can chase the state for prison cleanup cash. 

Gov. Maura Healey approved another $250,000 in this year’s state budget, but doesn’t plan to release any earmarks until the fall in case the economy falters and the state must trim spending. 

Barrett said the cash seems “iffy.” But he hopes to sell MCI-Acton as a housing project in line with Healey’s affordability priorities. 

“All of us need to make the case that any earmark that smooths the way towards housing construction within Route 495 needs to be preserved,” he said. 

In an emailed statement, state Rep. Simon Cataldo (D-Acton) praised the prison planning process and said he hopes this year’s earmark will survive any cutbacks.

State Rep. Carmine Gentile (D-Sudbury) noted the governor’s budget challenges and said her administration has “consistently supported” prison redevelopment.  

Contract extension

While the state eyes its coffers, Howell told The Acton Bridge he’s glad to have $250,000 in hand from a recent Town Meeting vote, and the town is considering extending its contract with Agency for more public outreach around the now-completed report. 

The MCI-Acton Advisory Board is expected to discuss an extension next week. 

Panel member Elizabeth Akehurst-Moore, during last month’s meeting, said, “We shouldn’t rush to spend money,” as officials firm up their vision for the prison property. Rezoning is on the horizon, and Howell agreed that this spring’s scramble wasn’t sustainable. 

“We should be able to set our own pace, and we will be discussing that over the next couple of weeks,” he said. 

The state Department of Correction spent recent weeks preparing to hand control of the prison over to the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance.