All-ability play center opens in Midtown Anchorage, partly with marijuana tax money

An outdoor play center built for children with disabilities has opened at the Alaska Jewish Campus in Midtown Anchorage, the first phase of a two-part project. The ribbon-cutting for the Alaska Friendship Circle All-Ability Early Childhood Play Center is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 1117 E. 35th Ave., followed by open play and a family festival.

Phase one was paid for with a Community Innovation Grant from thread Alaska and the State of Alaska Child Care Program Office, a capital project grant from the Municipality of Anchorage Child Care and Early Education Fund, and the Barney and Rachel Gottstein Charitable Foundation.

Both of those public funding streams are recent. Anchorage voters approved Proposition 14 in 2023, dedicating municipal marijuana tax revenue to child care and early education. The municipality said last year the fund would deliver an estimated $5 million to $6 million a year, with the first investments announced in June 2025. thread Alaska announced in September 2023 that it would award $15 million statewide in IMPROVE Child Care and Community INNOVATION grants in partnership with the state Child Care Program Office.

Phase two is an indoor center intended for winter and rainy days. The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority recorded a $150,000 grant in its March 2026 quarterly report for adaptive indoor equipment, describing a space for children ages 15 months to 9 years "with disabilities and/or behavioral health challenges as well as a place of connection, support, and resources for families."

Alaska Friendship Circle says on its website that it has raised $1.83 million toward a $4.2 million total project cost and plans the indoor center for 2027. Organizers list the Rasmuson Foundation, ConocoPhillips Alaska and several family foundations among partners sought for the indoor phase. Fundraising for that building is ongoing.