Saint Polycarp Village

Saint Polycarp Village is the largest development for SCC and with its completion of Phase 1 in spring of 2009, everyone is looking forward to plans of more development for the property.

Saint Polycarp Village

The 3.5-acre Saint Polycarp Village site was formerly owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and used by the St. Polycarp Parish until 2002. SCC purchased the land in March 2006 to revitalize a neglected and underutilized parcel of land at a key entrance point into Somerville. The project converts this area into a vibrant community with commercial space, affordable apartments, a church, a transitional home for single mothers and their children, a GED program and open space.

The Saint Polycarp Village Apartments is the first of three phases of new construction on the site. This project completed construction in June 2009 and includes 24 affordable apartment units and 6,200 square feet of retail space. There are a mix of one, two and three-bedroom units. All units will be affordable to families earning less than 60% of the Area Median Income, including 4 units reserved for clients of the Department of Mental Health and 2 units for homeless individuals. The building hopes to be certified as a LEED Silver green project. Green features include a green roof and ultimately solar PV (electric) and solar thermal (hot water) panels.

The owners of the two preserved buildings on the site continue to add an important mix to Saint Polycarp Village. The Just-A-Start House program has been in their newly renovated rectory building for over a year now and continue to provide shelter and support for young mothers and their children. The sale of the church building has been finalized and the Missonary Church of the Haitian Community have been holding services and events for their parishioners.

SCC is currently planning for the two additional phases. Plans include the construction of an additional 60 affordable rental units, a community room, open space and a playground on the site.

SPV is Certifiably Green

Please view this document for a quick view of the numerous reasons SPV has become certifiably green.

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panel Installation Begins at Saint Polycarp Village Apartments

As part of our efforts to minimize the energy consumption of the Saint Polycarp Village Apartments (SPVA) building, SCC secured a grant from MassHousing, via the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to install a solar PV array on the roof. The PV arrays arrived on the site last week and installation will be complete by late May. The PV array will offset the majority of the common area electricity of the building. These solar panels will join the existing green roof that is already flourishing on top of SPVA, In the near future solar thermal panels will also be added to the active roof to be used in heating the building’s hot water based heating system, as well as the domestic hot water.

Saint Polycarp Village Apartments is Certifiably Green!

SCC is pleased to announce that our newly constructed Saint Polycarp Village Apartments has been awarded the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification. The certification acknowledges the effort that was put into the building to make it a sustainable and healthy place for our residents to live.

In addition to solar PV (for electricity), solar thermal (for hot water), and a green roof, the latest techniques were used to achieve cutting-edge energy conservation, indoor air quality, and water conservation. The building, which is also Energy Star rated, is expected to achieve the aggressive goals of 50% energy savings and 40% water savings. Key green features integrated into the building include:

  • infill location close to bus lines and walkable to services
  • double and triple pane windows
  • high R-value icynene insulation in walls and roof
  • energy efficient appliances and lighting fixtures
  • high-efficiency elevator
  • efficient heating and cooling systems
  • high MERV filters used for the cooling and filtration of interior air to remove pollutants
  • energy recovery systems uses heat from exhaust air to heat the interior air
  • native and drought tolerant landscaping that needs little to no watering
  • storm water filtration system allows water to collect in an underground container and percolate into the soil
  • low flow sinks, showers, toilets and common washing machines
  • renewable materials including wheatboard and linoleum
  • low VOC paints, solvents and glues
  • white roofing material used to not add to the heat island effect
  • 91% of construction waste was recycled and diverted from landfills
  • covered bike room in the lobby for safer storage of bicycles, and
  • green pest control and green cleaning plans have been implemented

The Saint Polycarp Village Apartments was also chosen by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Massachusetts Chapter as a 2010 Innovation in Green Design Award winner. The jury noted that an important consideration in selecting the winners was a project’s breadth of impact.

Prospect Hill Academy Completes Oral History of SPV

The Prospect Hill Academy researched and then created an oral history of St Polycarp's to share with everyone the history, community and culture of the old Saint Polycarp Church area. Please view the website below to see the great work these students completed!

New Saint Polycarp Website

One of our funders, Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's Affordable Housing Program, created a wonderful website about SCC's St Polycarp Village. To view the website please click here.