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Speaker 1: Estela Ortega

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has been here from
the beginning.

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She was among the young Latino
activists that peacefully

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occupied the Old Beacon Hill
School in October 1972.

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Estela Ortega: I was 22 at

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the time that we didn't
know what we were doing,

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other than we had the
heart to help our people,

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and that's what was
extremely important.

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Speaker 1: Now, when
she walks through

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Plaza Roberto Maestas,

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Ortega finds it hard
to believe how much

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El Centro de la Raza has

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grown and what it
has become today.

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Estela Ortega: Now today,

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we have a $28 million
operating budget.

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Those dollars represent

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programs for people
that we serve,

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whether it's a senior
program, veterans,

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business opportunity center,
after school programs,

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we have 43 different programs

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that benefit the community
here at El Centro today.

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Speaker 1: Those
programs have aided and

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lifted many newly arrived
immigrant families.

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Just ask El Centro board
president, Pablo Mendoza.

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Pablo Mendoza: It
was in fall of 76,

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when the first places we
came here was El Centro.

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I remember being here and
getting some of those services,

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whether it's the childcare,

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the food bank, all the
resources that we here are

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helpful for us and

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imagine for many other
families from Chile.

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Speaker 1: In the early 2000s,

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it was clear that Washington
State's Latino population

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and immigrant communities
were growing,

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and so were their needs.

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For El Centro, the question was,

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what would those needs be,

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and how could it meet them?

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Roxana Amaral: Some of
those areas are housing,

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food insecurity,
support, immigration.

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Pablo Mendoza: We need
to continue developing.

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The need is there
for our community.

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Speaker 1: In 2009,
El Centro de la Raza

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was at a crossroads.

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Roberto Maestas decided to

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step aside as
executive director.

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Just a year later, he
would die of lung cancer.

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Estela Ortega had already

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taken over as
executive director.

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She would carry forward
her husband's hopes for

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El Centro with a greater
focus on growth.

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Estela Ortega: I had
to have a bigger dream

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of how we're going to
run this organization

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and how we're going to grow.

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Speaker 1: One thing that
helped was the placement

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of a light rail station
near El Centro.

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Estela Ortega: There
was not supposed to be

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a light rail at Beacon Hill.

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It was just going
to go underground

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and pass us, and
all of a sudden,

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there is a light rail,

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and that was an
amazing opportunity.

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Speaker 1: That
opportunity provided

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a major boost to

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the development of
Plaza Roberto Maestas,

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a $45 million transit
oriented project

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featuring affordable housing,

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retail, office, and
public event space.

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It opened in 2016.

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El Centro de la Raza
had become a developer.

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Estela Ortega: Would
have thought that we

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could have put a package

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together with different funders,

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state, city, tax
credits, and donors.

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Speaker 1: The successful
development of

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Plaza Roberto Maestas
was just the beginning.

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Recent years, El Centro
expanded its role as

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a developer in Seattle
and in South King County.

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Estela Ortega: It's wonderful

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being out in the South, then,

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because we know that

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there's just a demand
for early learning,

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child development centers
and lots of people of color,

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especially women work
and early learning.

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Speaker 1: El
Centro now operates

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five Jose Marti Child
Development Centers.

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Along with the
childcare services,

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El Centro has continued to
focus on housing development.

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Four Amigo's Beloved Community

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housing opened its doors in

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2025 with 87 units of

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affordable housing and space
for community programs.

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With the growth
of the Latino and

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immigrant communities
in South King County,

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El Centro established
offices in Federal Way.

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Next door, it opened
Sí Se Puede Academy,

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a GED program serving young
adults ages 18 to 21.

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A short time later, El Centro

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entered the skate ring business,

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acquiring a popular
federal way rink

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and nearly three
acres of property,

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a prime site for future
development planned for 2027.

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Estela Ortega: We're
going to build a Mercado,

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like a marketplace
where there will be

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35 to 40 businesses who will

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have a place seven days
a week that's covered.

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I think it's going to
be wonderful in terms

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of helping small businesses.

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Speaker 1: More affordable
housing is being built

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across the street from El
Centro's headquarters.

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Plaza Phyllis Guterres
Kenny will open in February

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with 70 apartment units
and coming in 2028,

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the Mount Baker development

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in conjunction with
Mercy Housing.

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It will include 431
affordable housing units

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plus an early learning component

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with the University
of Washington.

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Estela Ortega:
There's going to be

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the College of Early Learning,

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and you'll be able
to get your BA,

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your master's or your PhD
in that particular place.

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Speaker 1: It's
been 54 years since

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El Centro de la Raza took

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over the Old Beacon Hill School.

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Of that moment,
Roberto Maestas said,

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"We took this over in your name.

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For the unborn and
future generations,

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this is your home, and
everyone is welcome."

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Pablo Mendoza: These
doors are always open.

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They're open to me and my
family and other Chileans,

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and other family immigrants

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are coming for the first time.

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Roxana Amaral: El Centro,
and the work that

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El Centro does is
community work.

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Speaker 1: Today, this home is

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a beloved community where

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hopes and dreams
continue to grow.

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Estela Ortega: You
give them that dream.

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You inspire, you motivate,

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and you can become
whatever you want to be.

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You got to work hard for
it but that can happen.

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Speaker 2: Watch Citystream
Tuesday nights at seven on

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the Seattle Channel or find us

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anytime online at
seattlechannel.org.