A proposed cancer center could bring new outpatient services and expanded access to clinical trials to Tacoma’s West End. The Tacoma Community Cancer Center is planned for 602 N. Orchard St., the property that currently includes First Christian Church and the Village at 6th and Orchard shelter. The project was initially estimated at $50 million; the latest permit filings don’t give a revised cost.
Plans call for a three-story, 125,000-square-foot medical office building with about 440 parking spaces. It would offer medical and radiation oncology, infusion, imaging, lab work and supportive services. Despite seeking a land-use classification used for hospitals, the proposal describes an outpatient center without an emergency department, overnight inpatient care or regular ambulance traffic.
The plans organize the building around a forest theme: radiation and imaging on the “forest floor,” infusion services in the “understory,” and oncology clinics and clinical-trial offices in the “canopy.” The proposal also calls for preserving mature trees on the site as much as possible.
The shelter village is expected to move to 3860 S. 69th St., with Tacoma’s posted timeline targeting completion by Nov. 16. First Christian Church is still active at the Orchard Street address; earlier reporting said the church’s sale of the property would mean a change in its physical space, but the latest filing coverage doesn’t identify a new location for the congregation or confirm the church building’s demolition.
The project remains a proposal, with permits pending. Current estimates put construction in early 2028 and completion in early 2030, though those dates could change as the city review proceeds. For more on the plans—and what the filings say about the site’s design—read Debbie Cockrell’s full report in The News Tribune.
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