State prison for women to be built in Burlington County
TRENTON — A planned state prison for women is to be built in Burlington County, officials have announced.
The "purpose-built" facility will be on property in Chesterfield that already holds the Garden State Correctional Facility.
The site, owned by the Department of Corrections, also is adjacent to a former youth correctional facility that closed in 2020.
"The 33-acre property offers a more central location within the state and is near major roadways (including the New Jersey Turnpike) and resources," according to a DOC statement.
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It said the location should provide easier access for family visitors and "more significant staffing resources between multiple facilities."
The Chesterfield site also is expected to allow a greater connection to community resources, the statement said.
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Gov. Phil Murphy in June 2021 announced plans to close the state's only prison for women, the scandal-plagued Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, Hunterdon County.
Murphy acted after multiple incidents involving the abuse of inmates at the state's only prison for women.
EMCF, which continues to operate, was built in 1913. Its closure is expected to save about $166 million in capital and maintenance costs, the agency said.
The state allocated $90 million in fiscal year 2024 to start development of the planned prison.
Thursday's announcement came as the state opened a bidding process for design consultation for the prison project.
It said that "will be pivotal in providing architecture and engineering services for developing a new and modern women's correctional facility."
It also said the planned facility will be "trauma-informed" and will have conditions "conducive to rehabilitation, re-entry, and improved safety and security" for inmates, employees and the community.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Facility to replace scandal-plagued Edna Mahan Correctional Facility
