Work will begin Saturday to transform a vacant lot in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood into a new 32,000-square-foot child care and human services center, filling a need in an area where 17% of child care needs are met, according to the state Department of Children, Youth and Families.
It’s a moment executive director Gail Neal has been waiting for a long time. She founded the Multicultural Child and Family Hope Center in a church basement three decades ago. Thanks to government funding, foundation support and community fundraising efforts, a $20.9 million project to build a new center with 19 classrooms and space for 300 children is finally becoming a reality. It’s expected to open in January 2026.
For decades the Multicultural Child and Family Hope Center at 2316 South State St. in Tacoma has offered a variety of free and lost-cost services. The center is on a Pierce Transit bus line and a school bus line and hosts before- and after-school programs, provides emergency respite for foster children, offers preschool and child care, early education programs, diaper banks, grocery drives, housing assistance, homeless prevention, support groups for fathers, mothers, parents and children in addition to sobriety support…