The City of Ponca City, Oklahoma utilized every bit of its antiquated and deficient police station. Built in 1976, the building had been simply worn out over its four decades, and the department had outgrown it.
The decision was ultimately made to replace the old police headquarters, and a team of designers, with Elevatus serving as Consultant and Architect of Record on the jail design, began planning the new Ponca City Public Safety Center.
Constructed on a site just adjacent to the old station, the new Ponca City Public Safety Center serves as home to the Ponca City Police Department and the city’s Municipal Jail.
Elevatus was brought on to design the 16-bed jail. While small, the facility operates as a modern secure detention center, with distinctive Elevatus trademarks like advantageous sightlines and a high-efficiency layout.
The jail is designed around a central operations center, with a booking desk on the intake side and control station on the housing side. On the intake side, the booking officer has sightlines to the vehicle sallyport, an access hall from the police department, and a delivery door, along with the interview and fingerprinting areas and an exam room. The intake area has 2 holding cells, a medical isolation cell, 2 padded cells, and a group holding cell.
The housing area features 4 dayrooms with 4 beds apiece and an indoor-outdoor recreation space, all surrounding that central control station to allow for open lines of sight. Premanufactured steels cells were utilized.
The jail was designed to utilize high-technology solutions like a cutting-edge electronic security system and an advanced door locking system for staff efficiency. Inmate services including laundry and a kitchen. A rear chase surrounds the housing area to allow for secure access to mechanical or plumbing systems behind the cells.
The new jail is one part of the new Ponca City Public Safety Center, which also features an expanded dispatch center, a substantial evidence room, and a forensic garage, as well as hoteling offices available to other agencies.
Elevatus was proud to serve on a skilled team alongside ADG Blatt and Redstone Architects to deliver the new Ponca City Public Safety Center. The facility allows the Ponca City Police Department the space to operate efficiently and productively so its officers can serve its mission to “promote safety, preserve life, maintain human rights, protect property, and encourage individual responsibility and community commitment.”
