Tahanan provides 145 studio apartments (plus one manager’s unit) of permanent supportive housing for adults who have experienced homelessness to the SOMA District of San Francisco.

This is the prototype of what is hoped to model a new financing structure for permanent supportive housing. The goals of the project are to expedite the development process and make it more efficient, reducing cost by jumpstarting construction using philanthropic funding. Permanent affordability and high-quality operations are ensured through a partnership with the City of San Francisco, which will provide operating subsidies after construction is complete. The site is in the central South of Market Area of San Francisco between 6th and 7th Streets on Bryant, across from the Hall of Justice. The site is central to public transit, grocery stores, and community parks.

The name for this new community, Tahanan, is a Tagalog word which evokes “home”, “coming home”, “return home”. It represents a place for people and families to return to or rest. Given the location of the site, the project team consulted with SOMA Pilipinas staff regarding several building design elements which resulted in the use of the traditional ‘banig’, (colorful handwoven grass mat), pattern in the cast concrete, as well as the representation of rice field terraces on the building’s exterior material.