State and local officials recently celebrated the groundbreaking of phase II of the Saint Polycarp Village project in Somerville.

The Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) is providing $1.6 million in long-term fixed rate loan financing from its bank-funded loan pool to help the Somerville Community Corp. (SCC) create 29 new affordable rental homes in phase II, according to a statement. The new rental homes will consist of three one-bedroom apartments, 20 two-bedroom apartments and six three-bedroom apartments. All units will be made affordable to residents earning below 60 percent of the area median income.

"I would like to thank everyone who is involved in this development," Danny LeBlanc, executive director of the SCC said, during the groundbreaking. "There are a lot of funders who made this day possible but if you take any one of them away, this housing does not happen."

"We are delighted to be supporting Somerville Community Corp. in its efforts to bring more affordable housing to the city," said Clark Ziegler, MHP executive director. "We support a lot of nonprofit development organizations – SCC is one of the gems."