OWNERSHIP
CONDITIONS
CONTEXT
PLANNING PROCESSES

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OWNERSHIP:
State of Massachusetts, Department of Corrections

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CONDITIONS:
The physical structure of the former Boston Pre-Release Center, a 100-bed facility that was home to 57 adult pre-release prisoners, is located within the western campus of the former Boston State Hospital. It is accessible from Morton and Walk Hill Streets. The low brick building is located amidst the ruins of State Hospital buildings, next to one structurally unsound building that is fenced off, and numerous roads that are blocked by hunks of cement.

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CONTEXT:
The pre-release facility, which is now located at 430 Canterbury Street in Roslindale (see Boston Pre-Release Center (new)), was designed for men who are about to be released from prison. The program is intended to ease their transition back into society and holds inmates rated at the Level 2 and Level 3 security levels (Level 6 is the highest level of security). Level 2 inmates are not directly supervised and are permitted to leave the facility unescorted to participate in work or educational programs in the community. Inmates can be seen similarly dressed around and about the grounds of the Pre-Release Center.

Julie Brandlin, director of the Boston Nature Center, said that the Boston Pre-Release Center was a good neighbor and that no problems arose between the Center and residents at the Department of Corrections facility. Local security officers report that the area around the Pre-Release Center is typically very quiet and reported no trouble of any kind with the inmates.

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PLANNING PROCESSES:
The State has completed plans to relocate the Pre-Release Center nearby at the Canterbury II urban wild area along Canterbury Street next to the Judge Connolly Youth Department of Youth Services Center for juvenile detainees. The new site is southeast of the Forest Hills Cemetery, south of Morton Street, and north of Walk Hill Street.

Pre-construction work for the new 150-bed, $12.5 million, 45,460-square-foot facility, began in the fall of 2002 and was completed in October 2003. Plans for the facility were in development for a decade but residents were unaware of them until construction began. The Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) owns and controls the 20-acre property, 4.8 acres of which will be dedicated to the new facility. Legislation passed in 1998 allocated money for the construction. Construction was put on hold during the winter of 2002 as a result of community protest.

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