From left: Newark Mayor Cory Booker at Harmony Square’s groundbreaking, a rendering of phase I of the development at the corner of Third and Broad streets, and M & M Development founders Maria Yglesias and Maria Del Mar Lopez at the groundbreaking

M & M Development and Newark Mayor Cory Booker led a groundbreaking ceremony today for Harmony Square, a $10.2 million development in the city’s North Ward that combines market-rate condominiums with affordable housing. The first condo phase and the rental phase are starting at the same time with a 2010 completion date. The condo, called Condominiums@Harmony Square, will include two main developments, including 24 new condominium homes. The rental building, Apartments@Harmony Square, includes the rehabilitation of a 16-unit rental building with 10 units set aside for supportive housing, for domestic violence survivors and homeless residents looking for a stable residence. Construction of the rest of the condos — three new buildings with 21 condominium units and one duplex — will kick off next year and finish a year later. [more]