Gov. Maura Healey’s administration plans to turn a decommissioned prison in Norfolk into an overflow shelter for up to 140 families waiting for placement into the larger state-funded system, a spokesperson for the governor said in a statement Saturday.

State officials plan to move migrant families, including those staying at Logan Airport, to the former Bay State Correctional Facility — which was shuttered in 2015 and “remains in good condition” — next month, the state’s emergency assistance director, Scott Rice, said in a statement.

Razor wire surrounding the facility will be removed and the gates will remain open so families will be free to exit and return as needed, according to the Healey administration. Families will have access to dorms and bathrooms on each floor, Rice said.

“Additionally, the facility has a cafeteria, a gymnasium, a large common room, and offices that will be utilized for case management and administrative activities. The site will be set up with play areas for children, as well as classroom spaces for adults to engage in activities that support pathways to stability such as ESOL classes, job training courses, and housing search workshops,” he said in a statement.

The Healey administration has turned to state-owned buildings in the past year to expand the capacity of overflow sites in Massachusetts amid an influx of migrants who are seeking entry into the state-run shelter system.

A National Guard armory in Lexington was tapped last month to house up to 55 families, the Melnea Cass Recreation Center in Roxbury was turned into an overflow site earlier this year, and the old Chelsea Soldiers’ Home was enlisted to serve up to 100 families, among others.

The Bay State Correctional Center overflow site will be staffed around the clock by a contracted services provider and families staying in the shelter will be provided with transportation on and off the site, according to the Healey administration.

The plans for the shelter were first reported by WCVB.

Families in overflow shelters must reapply each month for services and prove they are seeking a job or long-term housing to remain eligible for room at one of the state-funded sites.

The state’s prison population has decreased by nearly half in the last decade and incarceration rates are at the lowest in 35 years, the Healey administration said. As former correctional facilities close, those sites and the land they occupy will be considered for alternative uses, a spokesperson for the governor said.

The Department of Correction announced plans in March 2015 to move inmates out of the Bay State Correctional Center, which was a medium-security prison at the time, in an effort to cut costs.

“We have a lot of cells that are not being used, so because of that we have a lot of units that are closed,” then-Secretary of Public Safety and Security Dan Bennett told lawmakers on Beacon Hill.

The original stone façade of the building opened in 1977 as a minimum facility for 72 imamates, according to a description of the facility prepared by the state.

Materials from the State House News Service were used in this report.