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New Private Prison In Hudson Is Boost To Economy

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Nov 17, 2009 8:10 pm US/Mountain

New Private Prison In Hudson Is Boost To Economy

Written by Paul Day

Reporting
Paul Day

HUDSON, Colo. (CBS4) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: The new $90 million dollar Hudson Correctional Facility will house up to 1,000 prioners.
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The Hudson Correctional Facility resembles any other new prison with its' concrete cell blocks and walls topped in razor wire. But what is just opening now -- with strong local support -- is widely regarded as a cash cow.

"The quality of the jobs we're adding here today, the salary and benefits, that's a great thing for the state of Colorado," said Don Marostica, Colorado Director of Economic Development.

The new prison will create more than 200 jobs and pump $7 million into the local economy, according to Cornell Companies, the private operator of the facility.

The first inmates are prisoners from the state of Alaska. Currently behind bars in Arizona, they will be transferred to Hudson in late November.

Colorado corrections staff worked with their counterparts in Alaska to make sure no really problem prisoners would be shipped to Hudson's new medium security prison.

"We wanted to make sure that only the prisoners that are allowed to come here actually get on the bus and come here," said Joe Schmidt, Alaska Commissioner of Corrections at a dedication ceremony held Tuesday at the new facility.

Alaska is building new cell space and the inmates will go back to Alaska in 2012.

"This is a true asset for us as a state," said Ari Zavaras with the Colorado Department of Corrections. "We don't have a need right now but we were fortunate that Alaska does. Going in to the future ultimately the state will have a use for this facility."

But Cornell is not worried about filling the 1250 beds in the new facility. In fact, the company believes this is just the beginning because other states have surplus prisoners as well and will need a place to put them.

"The good leaders of Hudson have given us approval that, in the appropriate time, we will be able to expand this to over 4,000 beds," explained James Hyman, CEO of Cornell Companies.

A majority of Hudson residents showed their support for the private corrections facility in two separate elections.

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