Effort underway for $50M cancer care center in Tacoma

A land use permit is pending with the City of Tacoma for an estimated $50 million cancer center in the South Sound.

The project is titled Tacoma Community Cancer Center. The site is described as a 125,000-square-foot, three-story medical office, with 440 parking spaces, according to an Oct. 8 permit filing.

The anticipated start date for construction of the center is November 2027.

A pre-application was first recorded in September 2025. The original project name was South Sound Cancer Center. In that filing, the estimated job value cost was listed as $50 million. A new cost has not been recorded in the most updated filings.

The space is listed at 602 N. Orchard St. and is just under 7 acres. The current property is a religious space.

What is there now?

First Christian Church is currently at the site. Part of the property has housed a tiny-home village since 2020. Seattle’s Low Income Housing Institute operates the village in partnership with the church. The tiny home village is expected to move to a new operation on South 69th St, The Tacoma News Tribune reported.

Who is leading the project?

Dr. Frank Senecal, chief medical officer at the South Sound Care Foundation, is leading the plans for the development, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported in 2025.

The South Sound CARE Foundation is a research organization based in Tacoma that has served the community since 2008. Their focus is serving cancer patients across the region who have exhausted treatment options. Medical professionals who serve on the foundation board come from backgrounds in the healthcare field, working for MultiCare, Franciscan, and Northwest Medical Specialties, according to the organization’s website.

Is there already a cancer center in western Washington?

Fred Hutch Cancer Center is a known cancer research center based in Seattle. The nonprofit organization is in close partnership with University of Washington Medicine.

About 78% of Fred Hutch patients are from King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, a Fred Hutch report showed. Whereas the South Sound Cancer Care Foundation serves primarily South Sound communities.

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