Seattle Children's Hospital plans to open a maternal-fetal medicine clinic at Point Ruston, bringing specialized high-risk pregnancy care to Tacoma's North End waterfront.

A $1.6 million tenant-improvement permit filed July 22, with the City of Tacoma calls for renovating Suite 125 at 5005 Main St. in the Copperline building.

The space previously housed Franciscan Plastic Surgery Associates, according to an online property search cited in the permit filing. Construction could begin in October 2026, though the city notes that initial dates listed on permits routinely change.

The project involves selective demolition of interior walls, doors, casework and finishes to create new room layouts, along with plumbing adjustments, according to the permit application.

A Seattle Children's media representative said the hospital's Fetal Center is expanding maternal-fetal medicine services in the South Sound. The hospital said more details would come in fall 2026. The statement did not specify which services would be available at the Point Ruston location.

The clinic would make Seattle Children's a third provider of maternal-fetal medicine in Pierce County, joining MultiCare and Franciscan, which is part of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.

Seattle Children's already operates a South Sound Cardiology Clinic at 1901 S. Cedar St. in Tacoma, focused on fetal echocardiograms.

The Point Ruston clinic would represent a broader footprint, though the hospital has not confirmed which services would be offered.

The expansion follows a strategic affiliation announced April 29, 2025, between Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and Seattle Children's.

That agreement aims to expand perinatal and neonatal services across VMFH birth centers in King, Pierce and Kitsap counties. VMFH hospitals deliver roughly 10 percent of Washington state's births and were sending about 25 vulnerable newborns per day to Seattle Children's at the time of the announcement.

"Our goal is to keep every mother and baby together in their home community whenever possible," Mark Salierno, Seattle Children's senior vice president and chief strategy and business development officer, said in April 2025 when the affiliation was announced.

Whether the Point Ruston clinic is formally part of that affiliation remains unclear. The Copperline building is a mixed-use structure with basement parking, ground-level retail and apartments above. CWS Capital Partners of Newport Beach, California, purchased the property in 2018.

Seattle Children's says it will release more information about the South Sound expansion in fall 2026.