Somerville leads the way with new green affordable housing at St. Polycarp
A green roof, triple-paned windows that block out highway noise and the creative revitalization of an underused lot made Somerville’s newest affordable housing project a poster child for the state.
State and federal officials congratulated Somerville for its commitment to affordable housing at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Saint Polycarp Village apartments on Monday June 8, 2009.
Standing next to Mystic Avenue and speaking over the traffic noise of I-93, Congressman Mike Capuano congratulated Mayor Joe Curtatone and the Somerville Community Corporation for a project well done.
“This project is the best representation I can remember of bringing a community back together, building it as a place for people to live and to raise their families in, and to make life better for them,” said Capuano as he recalled how I-93 divided the neighborhood and took out 600 homes in the city. “This particular project, to me, represents the healing of one of the many wounds that society put on its own sisters and brothers years ago. This is a wonderful project.”
He also recalled his days on the Somerville Community Corporation board and expressed admiration for those who work tirelessly for housing projects. “The point is that this organization attracts and retains people who are committed to this city and to this world.”
With this project offering 24 new affordable housing units, the site of the former Saint Polycarp parish in Somerville is moving one step closer to being transformed into mixed-use village. All of the units are affordable to families earning less than 60 percent of the Area Median Income, including four units reserved for clients of the Department of Mental Health and two units reserved for formerly homeless individuals. There is 6,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and two of the three units available have already been leased out.
Recalling the recent opening of Somerville’s new VNA apartments and the renovated Capen Court, state Department of Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Tina Brooks also added her voice in praise of a city that’s doing what few others are achieving in tough times.
“Not many communities embrace affordable housing the way you do and it is so critically important now,” Brooks said to the mayor at the ribbon cutting. “A lot of units are off the market because of foreclosure, people are losing their homes, they desperately need affordable rentals and you are encouraging that to happen and you are doing it in the context of a community perspective. So you are really building a lot of stability in this community that I hope serves you well in years to come.”
This smart-growth redevelopment project has revitalized a neglected and underutilized parcel of land at the corner of Temple Street and Mystic Avenue, converting it into a vibrant community that includes new housing, commercial space, a church, a transitional home for single mothers and their children, a GED program and open space.
“We’re excited to be moving forward on the creation of Saint Polycarp Village apartments,” said Danny LeBlanc, CEO of the Somerville Community Corporation that developed it. “Especially during these hard economic times, we’re pleased to be able to see this project through to completion and to be providing some critically needed affordable rental housing.”
The building features solar panels for common area electric loads, solar thermal panels for hot water, and the city’s first affordable green roof that was built by Apex Green Roofs and a group of students from an engineering class at the Prospect Hill Academy.
Iric Rex of Mostue and Associates that helped design the project said that it was rewarding to work on a project that had so many community partners and sustainable design features. “The result is a very responsible building, improving the site and the neighborhood, while integrating a combination of cutting-edge energy-efficiency features,” he said. “The tenants and local community alike will benefit from the new urban green spaces created around the building, and the healthy, beautiful interior environment.”
“It has been a pleasure to work on an affordable housing project that encompasses so many new green technologies. We have been very fortunate to build in a community like Somerville that is forward-thinking and ambitious with its projects,” added John Curtis, president of Curtis Construction Company that built the project.
Mayor Curtatone said this is a perfect example of what Somerville can do with good partnership and that this is the first of many good projects underway.
“It takes a village to build a village,” added LeBlanc.
Saint Polycarp Village Apartments received investor financing through the Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits during a time when very few deals of this type were being financed. Additional funding came from the State of Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Mass Housing, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), Mass Development, Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP), Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, First Sterling, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, LISC, the Home Depot Foundation, Enterprise Foundation, US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the City of Somerville.
“This is one development that gives us great hope regarding affordable housing,” said Roger Herzog from CEDAC.
Saint Polycarp Village apartments is the first of at least two phases of new construction on the site. Plans for a second phase of new construction include 29 affordable rental units centered around a green space and adjacent to a playground. This is currently in the funding phase and is expected to be complete by 2011.
Information from a press release was used in this report.
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URL to Tina Brooks on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlPkMR2k7nc
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