The Oklahoma City Council has signed off on final plans for the MAPS 4 Robert Ravitz Crisis Center, clearing the way for demolition at 1200 NE 13th St. and construction to start early this summer. The city bills the facility as a new local hub for residents in mental-health or substance-use crisis, offering observation, short-term stabilization and connections to longer-term care. Officials expect the center to open in 2027.
According to the City of Oklahoma City, the building will feature an urgent recovery unit with 25 observation stations, two crisis-stabilization wings with up to 16 beds each, group-therapy and calming rooms, a social living area and an outdoor courtyard. Plans also include administrative offices, plus an on-site kitchen and cafeteria.
Funding and the MAPS 4 connection
A portion of MAPS 4 set aside $12.27 million for construction of the Robert Ravitz Crisis Center, and the Arnall Family Foundation has pledged $3 million to the project, as reported by KGOU. MAPS 4 is the city’s temporary penny-sales-tax program totaling roughly $1.07 to $1.1 billion that voters approved in 2019. The package directed nearly $45 million toward crisis facilities and transitional housing.
Who will operate it and why it matters
The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services will run the center, according to the City of Oklahoma City. “Too often, people experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis needlessly end up in emergency rooms or jails,” Statewide Crisis Services Director Lauren Stover said in the city’s announcement, underscoring the need for a dedicated crisis facility.
Ravitz's legacy and why the name matters
City leaders named the facility for Robert “Bob” Ravitz, the longtime Oklahoma County public defender who spent decades advocating for people with mental illness caught in the criminal legal system. Ravitz successfully challenged Oklahoma’s competency rules in Cooper v. Oklahoma, a case he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the Journal Record. The project’s naming and early site plans were first reported in coverage of the city’s effort to honor Robert Ravitz.
Timeline and what's next
Demolition of the former Lottie House is already underway to clear the site, and city officials say construction will begin early this summer. The center is scheduled to open in 2027, and the city will own the building once it is complete, per KGOU.
