The Saint Polycarp Village Apartments, a project of the Somerville Community Corporation (SCC), will provide affordable and energy efficient housing for 24 families and individuals in Somerville. These units have been specifically reserved for Somerville residents that are currently earning less than 60% of the area median income. Two of the units are reserved for homeless individuals and four units have been reserved for clients of the Department of Mental Health. The building features cutting-edge energy conservation techniques that include water conservation and a Green Roof that was built by members of the senior class at Prospect Hill Academy Charter School as a means to involve students in the community and educate them about the design process, time and budget management, as well as energy conservation.

Along with Congressman Capuano, the ribbon cutting ceremony featured Mayor Curtatone and Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Tina Brooks. Danny Leblanc, the Executive Director of the SCC offered certificates of accomplishment to each of the speakers, including many of the financiers involved in the project. Mayor Curtatone, who spoke first, touched on the importance of continuing to build in Somerville regardless of the economy, and then thanked and congratulated the SCC for their persistence and tenacity in pursuing a project against the economic tide. "We're not just erecting buildings, we're building neighborhoods, and government can't do it alone."

Somerville has spent approximately 5.5 million dollars in the last five years on building and rehabilitating structures throughout the city in order to continue to brighten and improve the neighborhoods and community as well as to provide healthier and greener living spaces.

The SCC purchased the land on which the Polycarp Village Apartments now stand from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in 2006 in hopes of initiating a revitalization of an area of Somerville that is largely neglected. The SCC plans to redevelop the area into a vibrant part of the community, including commercial space, green space and housing. The completion of the Village Apartments concludes Phase I of the project, however plans for Phase II are currently underway aim to be completed in 2011.