THIS FALL THE MAPS 4 Oklahoma City Animal Shelter project is set to break ground on a new facility with the help of HSEarchitects, who designed the 70,000 square foot building from the ground up. The new shelter will be built in Oklahoma City at the same location as the existing shelter but will more than double the capacity to take in stray dogs and cats in the area.
“The priority of the new facility is to accommodate the overwhelming stray animal population in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas,” says HSEarchitects principal designer Todd Edmonds. This cannot be done with the size and inadequate structures of the current center. The new $42 million building will have easily accessible areas for intake, adoption, and clinic space to better regulate the flow of traffic.
“This is a greatly needed facility and we are glad MAPS 4 can provide it debt free,” says David Todd, program manager for Metropolitan Area Projects, the city’s sales-tax funded capital improvement program first launched in 1993. “We are pleased to be bringing final plans to the advisory board and city council soon so that we can start construction by the end of 2024.”
This new facility will not only give visitors and adopters a better experience, but it will also help bring to life the goal of reaching a ninety percent live release rate for animals who come into the shelter.
Design elements integrated into the new shelter will greatly improve the experience for animals, staff, volunteers, and guests with thoughtful implementations that reduce stress and the potential spread of disease. The shelter area will have larger living spaces with more natural light, while also providing more privacy by using materials that minimize the viewing space between kennels. Acoustic materials will curb the spread of noise throughout the living spaces and help animals feel safer and more secure during their stay. The materials used in the new facility will be more durable, robust, and longer lasting, giving more life to the new building in hopes that it will facilitate more positive outcomes for stray animals for many years to come.
“The level of funding our voters and taxpayers have committed to this effort ensures that Oklahoma City’s new animal shelter will truly be state-of-the-art. We want a facility that will be humane for the animals and will present a welcoming and uplifting experience for patrons,” says David Holt, mayor of Oklahoma City. “Ultimately, we want to save animal lives and increase adoptions, and our new animal shelter promises to meet those needs.”– KAYCEE CHANCE
Follow the progress of the new animal shelter and other MAPS 4 projects at okc.gov
