Heroux Says $10M Plan Could Finally Close New Bedford’s Ash Street Jail

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux renewed his push this morning to close New Bedford’s Ash Street Jail, saying it would cost $10 million to make it happen – with the cost rising each day – and that it would “pay for itself in less than three years.”

Heroux announced back in January 2023 his plan to close the Ash Street facility, which first opened in the 1829 (with an expansion in 1888) and is believed to be the oldest continuously operating jail in the United States.

READ MORE: New Bedford's Ash Street Jail Cost This Much to Build

However, in order to do that, he would need to install toilets and door locks in some of the 11 housing units at the Bristol County House of Corrections campus in Dartmouth that don’t already have them, so the roughly 100 inmates from Ash Street can be transferred to Dartmouth.

READ MORE: Heroux Announces Plan to Close New Bedford's Ash Street Jail

Heroux said today that PCM Company recently provided his office with an updated cost estimate that puts the figure needed to pay for toilets and door locks at $10 million, which he said is smarter than spending the $11 million needed for necessary repairs to Ash Street.

“Not only would spending $10 million at the Dartmouth campus allow us to close the Ash Street Jail, putting locks on doors would make the conditions of confinement much safer for staff and inmates,” Heroux said. “Many inmates need to be in a locked cell as they may be victimized by other inmates, or they may come out of their cell to harm another inmate or staff.”

READ MORE: DCAMM Estimate Full Scope

READ MORE: DCAMM Estimate Reduced Scope

What the $10 Million Would Cover

The $10 million in upgrades would allow for use of the GB housing unit and the B and D wings of the Women’s Center.

“However, the housing units GA, A and C wing in the Women’s Center would cost an additional more than $10 million,” Heroux said. “Additionally, the four housing units in the ‘Mods’ and EB would still be unresolved without locks on doors or toilets in cells, and we don’t have an estimate on these five housing units.”

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Capacity and Safety Concerns at Dartmouth

Heroux said the Dartmouth facility is currently operating at about 50 percent capacity, but that adding locks on doors of all the units would allow for more inmates.

“If we had locks on doors in all of our housing units, we could expand the inmates held at the correctional facility to include DOC inmates from Bristol County with sentences up to five years, which would help improve prisoner reentry,” he said.

Heroux has repeatedly used the phrase “money pit” to describe Ash Street, not only because of the $11 million needed in upgrades but because of the $800,000 it costs annually on utilities and general maintenance. In July 2024, the amount for necessary upgrades was $3.8 million, so costs are continuing to rise.

READ MORE: Heroux Says $3.8 Million Needed to Fix New Bedford's Ash Street Jail "Money Pit"

That’s why he believes the $10 million investment in the Dartmouth facility would “pay for itself in three years.” He said it could be paid back even faster, depending on if the Commonwealth sells the property to a private developer once it is vacated.

“Also, bringing back Ash Street Correction Officers to the Dartmouth campus would save an estimated $4 million a year in current forced overtime costs, even when accounting for some attrition,” he said, noting that there would be “no layoffs as all employees would be brought back to the Dartmouth campus.”

“There is no downside to closing the Ash Street Jail in New Bedford,” he said.

READ MORE: Ash Street Jail Brick Cracking Report

Heroux said that after the inmate uprising of April 21, 2023, he “expected/hoped/thought the state would have approached (him) to offer assistance to put locks on doors immediately.” He said since then, several state representatives and senators have visited the Dartmouth jail to advocate for money to put locks on the doors.

Why Delays Could Cost Taxpayers More

“Recently, I have been told to apply for a grant through (the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance), which has no guarantee of being awarded to this jail,” Heroux said. “If DCAMM does not award the BCSO, it is unknown how many more years the Ash Street Jail will remain open, costing taxpayers money that could be avoided, and it is unknown how much longer (the Dartmouth) jail will go without locks on doors in 11 of 22 housing units.”

What Happens if the State Says No?

Heroux said there are different ways the $10 million project could be funded.

“Going through DCAMM is one way to do a capital project, but the expense could also be a line in a capital budget, or a line in the operating budget. It can be a regular budget or a supplemental budget,” he said. “The fastest way to do this is an appropriation in the next operating budget or supplemental budget.”

According to Heroux, the current annual escalation for new construction is three to five percent, making the project more expensive by the year.