“The administration has carefully weighed many options and communicated with stakeholders about renovation needs,’’ Elissa Snook, spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, said in an e-mail. Moving patients to the Newton Pavilion is “the best option for patients that will also save taxpayers nearly $200 million,’’ she said.

State officials said that modernizing the hospital or building a new facility at the existing site would cost $400 million to $500 million. Buying and renovating a building owned by Boston Medical Center, the Newton Pavilion, will cost about half that, they said. The move, planned for 2021, will also allow for closer collaboration with BMC, one of the city’s largest teaching hospitals.

The state plans to close the 64-year-old Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain and move its inpatient services across town to the Boston Medical Center campus.


The Shattuck, located on Morton Street near Forest Hills Station, has 260 medical and psychiatric beds and employs 700 people. It provides care for some of the state’s most vulnerable patients, including the poor and homeless, as well as for Department of Correction prisoners.

The state said it does not anticipate layoffs, but the fate of outpatient programs on the property is unclear.

HHS will do a “comprehensive review” of those services to determine which ones it will maintain. Also, five nonprofit agencies operate eight programs at the site, including a methadone treatment clinic and a homeless shelter. They will not move to the Newton Pavilion because of space constraints.

The Pine Street Inn runs the shelter, which has 120 beds. The agency also operates 65 outpatient beds to treat substance abusers.

Lyndia Downie, president of the Pine Street Inn, said state officials called her Monday morning and told her about the plan. She said it’s unclear how the move will affect Pine Street’s services.


“The downside is it makes people nervous,’’ she said. But “there could be an enormous opportunity’’ to locate housing and additional recovery programs on the site.

The state will begin a planning process to develop recommendations for future use of the 13-acre Shattuck Campus. State law requires it to serve a public health purpose.

Liz Kowalczyk can be reached at kowalczyk@globe.com.