Ed. note: The following was sent by Somerville Community Corporation:

With the completion of Saint Polycarp Village Phase II, the site of the former Saint Polycarp Parish is continuing its transformation into a vibrant mixed use community, located at a key gateway into Somerville. Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) will celebrate the completion of Phase II with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Monday June 25^nd at 12:30pm. Event speakers include Congressman Michael Capuano, Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Aaron Gornstein. The Ribbon Cutting will take place at 16 Butler Drive in Somerville.

This is the second of three Phases of new construction on the site and includes 29 affordable rental units within 3 four-story buildings.  The buildings are designed around a courtyard and include a community room and playground that will be accessible to residents of all three phases.  Five units will be affordable to households earning less than 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and the remaining are affordable at 60% of AMI. Four units are reserved for homeless households and two are reserved for people with disabilities. 

The Phase II provides a wide breadth and depth of sustainable design features to lower income households.  As in Phase I, this phase was also designed with many green features, including energy conservation, air purification and a rain garden to collect storm water naturally on site instead of draining it to Somerville’s overtaxed sewers.   The building is located in smart growth, transit friendly, walkable neighbor, reducing the need for car trips and giving people more opportunity to get exercise by walking.

Saint Polycarp Village Apartments received financing through the City of Somerville, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), MassHousing, Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP), First Sterling Financial, Bank of New York Mellon Bank of America, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Enterprise Foundation, US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),

The third and final phase of new construction will include 31 affordable family rental units located within a 3-story, L-shaped building centered around a green space.  As in the previous phases of the Village, Phase III will also have a strong focus on green, including minimizing thermal breaks and double thick envelope walls, making this building more energy efficient than any previous phases of Saint Polycarp Village. Construction is scheduled to commence this fall. 

SCC, the developer of the project, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to maintaining diversity and preserving affordability in Somerville by building and preserving housing, organizing for necessary policies and funding, and giving residents the financial skills they need to survive.