As inmate population declines, Norco prison will close. Will it be a luxury hotel again?

The California Rehabilitation Center is slated to close in fall 2026, saving the state $150 million annually, officials said.

Norco is now free to begin reimagining the future of the “historic gem.”

A Riverside County state correctional facility housing nearly 3,000 inmates is slated to close in fall 2026, continuing a wave of recent prison shutdowns, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Monday .

A declining prison population and multimillion-dollar cost savings for the state were the motivating factors for the shuttering, according to the department.

The Norco prison is a Level 2 medium-security correctional facility holding 2,766 inmates who committed felonies. Approximately 1,200 workers staff the prison, according to the department.

No inmates