Oklahoma County Jail design is one step closer to being approved, but what's next?
Weeks after settling on a location for the new Oklahoma County Jail, we’re now seeing what the facility could look like. But questions are swirling around the plans because soon, the Oklahoma City Council will get involved.
OKLAHOMA COUNTY (KFOR) - Weeks after settling on a location for the new Oklahoma County Jail, we’re now seeing what the facility could look like. But questions are swirling around the plans because soon, the Oklahoma City Council will get involved.
Last week, Oklahoma County Commissioners approved building the jail at 1901 East Grand Boulevard in southeast Oklahoma City—a site many Mid-Del community members have been fighting against for months.
On Thursday morning, News 4 sat down with Commissioner Myles Davidson. He showed us possible design plans for the new jail.
Soon, the Oklahoma County Commissioners will vote on the design for the new jail, but that’s just one step of many more needing to happen before the jail is built.
“We have to treat these individuals more humanely than we currently do in their facility and we will have the ability to do in that facility. And that's what this new facility will do. It will allow us programing space,” said Myles Davidson, Oklahoma County Commissioner, District 3.
This week, the Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board approved an outdoor preliminary design as the new jail.
“It's not designed for you to come here and want to come back... That's not what we're trying to do. We're trying to blend in to where you can't tell that this is a jail or prison,” said Davidson.
Davidson invited KFOR to see more renderings of what the facility could look like inside.
They’d like to include three courtrooms, natural sunlight throughout the facility, outdoor spaces for inmates in each pod and much more. He also showed us plans of comforting areas for those receiving mental health treatment.
However, Mid-Del Public School superintendent Dr. Rick Cobb, who has fought against the Grand Boulevard property because of its close proximity to students, isn't sold. He says he doesn’t feel like the esthetics of a jail are as important as the location.
“I didn't want to see the renderings. You could make it look like the Taj Mahal, and I wouldn't want it near Del City... The location on Grand is not near the core services that families and individuals facing incarceration need,” said Dr. Rick Cobb, Mid-Del Public School superintendent.
But, with current plans, a possible future problem could be space. Davidson says they are looking at providing between 1,800 and 2,400 beds.
Officials at the current Oklahoma County Jail in downtown Oklahoma City tell KFOR as of February 29, 2024, they have 1,246 inmates.
However, with the influx of inmates, they could need more space.
Davidson says the property will be big enough to expand in the future if they need to.
“This site being as large as it is, will allow us to. As our population grows, so too will we be able to grow our jail,” said Davidson.
Davidson also addressed rumors the Oklahoma City Council plans to vote down a rezoning request for the property. He doesn’t believe they would have to follow the vote because of private property rights. He also thinks it would take a judicial ruling to stop any construction.
“Let's be partners in this situation. I don't think that what you're going to see when the vote actually takes place... I'm hoping that you'll see that they all agree that this is the best spot,” said Davidson.
Davidson adds Oklahoma City officials have been allegedly looking at this property for the new jail for years now.
“The city's been involved with looking at this for over 21 years. The city has done their due diligence on this as well... We just need to educate and allow them to come into the process to see,” said Davidson.
Davidson says they are already taking next steps.
“You've got the preliminary design, but then everything else on the inside of that architecturally, I mean, the planning of the wiring, the planning of the pipes, all of that is taking place. So, once we selected, we flipped multiple switches. The construction company says, okay, we've got our preliminary designs, let's start ordering certain pieces for the jail that we know take a long time. And we've got industrial packages that take up to three years to build and get on site. So, we'll be able to get that stuff moving and that'll be good for almost anywhere that we go. But everything is still moving forward,” said Davidson.
The rezoning request will likely be presented to the Oklahoma City Council in late April.
On Monday morning, Oklahoma County Commissioners will vote to accept or reject the designs that were recently approved by the Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board.