Oklahoma County agrees to pay HOK $23 million to design new jail, mental health facility

Jack Money, The Oklahoman
·5 min read

Oklahoma County will pay HOK $23 million to design a new county jail and mental health facility.

County Commissioners approved an agreement to hire HOK earlier this week. The agreement, negotiated over the past two months, sets the stage for the architect to evaluate 11 potential locations for a new jail/health center (including the jail's existing location downtown), design the new facility and work with a contractor to manage the project through completion.

Members of Oklahoma County's Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board worked with Stacey Trumbo, the county's engineer and Chantel Boso, its purchasing clerk, as they negotiated with the firm to draft the agreement brought to and unanimously approved by Oklahoma County's Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday.

"A lot of work has gone into this, beyond just the basics of what you would think of as designing a jail," Trumbo told commissioners.

The county is under pressure to replace its existing jail after decades of issues involving its existing building, which it opened in 1991.

A year-long investigation by The Oklahoman involving document reviews and dozens of interviews showed Oklahoma County's jail trust failed to take steps needed to stem the tide of inmate deaths during the three years since it assumed control of the facility. The building's condition, short staffing, guard misconduct, relatively poor medical care and lax mental health services, plus a thriving drug economy all played roles in conditions at the jail.

Through the end of April, 43 detainees held by the jail since the trust assumed control of its operations died while in the county's custody. Just earlier this week, the jail's staff had to initiate life-saving efforts to rescue two female detainees found unresponsive after apparent drug overdoses.

Deal spends half of bond funds sold by Oklahoma County to investors earlier this year

The contract between the county and HOK calls for the architect's final designs to include:

  • A modern intake booking center

  • Space for diversion programs

  • Modern direct supervision pods

  • Education and program support space

  • On-site courtrooms

  • Intervention/reintegration centers

  • Medical and mental health treatment centers

  • Certification as a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) project

Trumbo said that while Oklahoma County does not yet know how much the jail will cost, the amount of money HOK will make won't change.

The agreement between the county and HOK also spends about half the $45 million in bonds that Oklahoma County sold earlier this year to investors to obtain cash needed to design and start to build the new jail. Future sales to raise the cash needed to complete the job are planned by the end of 2024.

Oklahoma County voters authorized the sale of $260 million in bonds to build the new jail/mental health center in June 2022. Ballot language called for the county to spend 85% of funds raised through a given bond sale connected to the project within three years of when that occurred, and the remaining funds within five years.

County commissioners also have designated using $40 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds toward building a jail-related mental health facility. Some of those dollars must be spent before the end of 2024, while the remainder must be spent by the end of 2026.

"I think after we agree to this contract and purchase the land to build a new facility, we will have no problem" meeting those timelines, said Brian Maughan, chairman of the board of county commissioners.

More: Commissioner: New jail to be 'night and day' improvement from current jail's problems

"I appreciate the work of the bond advisory council. They have put a lot of time in this," Maughan said. "It's a big step."

What HOK has done so far? What's next?

Earlier this week, Oklahoma County's bond oversight advisory board members heard from Curt Parde, director of architecture in HOK's Dallas office.

Parde told members HOK already has toured select locations to evaluate their potential uses as either mental health or jail/mental health center locations.

HOK will also lead a tour of the jail/mental health center it designed in Nashville, Tennessee, for select representatives from the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and county representatives.

"We will walk through that facility, because it has a lot of similarities to the types of things we are trying to look at incorporating into a new facility here," Parde said.

HOK brings experience to the task at hand

Here's what we know about HOK, one of four firms who expressed interest in designing the new jail.

  • Company headquarters: St. Louis

  • Company history: The company was founded by George Hellmuth, Gyo Obata and George Kassabaum in 1955.

  • What it does: HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm that employs 1,600 people collaborating across a network of 25 offices on three continents.

  • Related project: The Davidson County Metro Criminal Justice Center in Nashville, Tennessee, which houses the county sheriff's staff and up to 1,000 inmates. HOK states its design for the 405,000 square foot building incorporates a mission-driven approach to detention, diversion and treatment by including a state-ot-the-art medical clinic with exam, procedure, observation and negative-pressure isolation rooms, a fully equipped dialysis center and a dental operation, plus a 64-bed unit for individuals with serious and persistent mental illness.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County will pay HOK $23 million to design new jail