Here’s update on Tacoma psychiatric hospital proposed on lot that’s sat vacant
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Signature Healthcare affirms plans to build an acute behavioral hospital in Tacoma.
- Washington DOH says Signature’s Certificate of Need remains valid.
- No city permits filed in 2025; property tax for 2025 listed as unpaid with county.
A representative for a privately held behavioral health entity has told The News Tribune it still has plans for construction in Tacoma and blames previous delays on the pandemic.
In a statement sent in response to questions, Signature Healthcare Services spokesperson Nathan Miller said via email, “While our plans were delayed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we still intend to build an acute behavioral health facility in Tacoma.”
Miller added that Corona, California-based Signature is “engaged in the process of reassessing the needs of the community post-pandemic, and are working with local agencies to ensure that the types of services we will deliver best suit their needs.”
The remarks were the first official response from a Signature representative regarding future plans for the multi-acre vacant lot at South 19th Street and South Proctor streets.
This week, Washington state Department of Health media representative John Doyle told The News Tribune in response to questions, “Signature Healthcare’s Tacoma Behavioral Health Center’s Certificate of Need (CN) remains valid.”
A Certificate of Need is part of the state’s medical regulatory process and is required in development/construction of certain proposed medical sites or offering new or expanded services.
Doyle stated, “The project has met commencement requirements, so the CN’s validity is not at risk and will remain in effect unless Signature elects to surrender it or there is cause for revocation.”
He added that Signature’s project “remains in monitoring status as they continue to work on construction details. At this time, DOH does not have any additional new information to share.”
No permitting activity has occurred this year, according to information on file at the city’s permit portal.
Elsewhere, Signature continues to add sites to its project list, including a $200 million proposed behavioral health campus in Shasta County, California,
Lengthy history of proposed Tacoma Behavioral Health site
Representatives of Signature Healthcare Services originally filed a pre-application with the city for site development in 2017. An LLC affiliated with Signature is the property’s owner.
Signature gained a Certificate of Need for the hospital from Washington state Department of Health in 2019, following an earlier denial from the state in early 2016 in favor of a separate project — Wellfound Behavioral Health. Wellfound was created as a joint venture between MultiCare and CHI Franciscan (now Virginia Mason Franciscan Health) located a few blocks east of the Signature site.
A settlement agreement was later reached, clearing the way for DOH approval for Signature’s plan for the five-and-a-half-acre site. The land-owning LLC affiliated with Signature also won its case against the city challenging the site’s rezoning process.
More recently, the LLC resolved a debt-collection lawsuit involving a construction contractor and subcontractor who performed work at the site before work was paused in 2022.
On May 28, 2025, a “full satisfaction of judgment” filing was entered, eliminating the contractors’ liens. The 2025 property tax for the site, however, remains unpaid, according to Pierce County’s online property assessment portal.
Previous reporting by The News Tribune contributed to this report.
