Page 14 - RE-NJ Aug2020
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12 AUGUST 2020
 HOME-GROWN
City native spearheading long-awaited redevelopment at Elizabeth transit site
Anew mixed-use building with 267 upscale apartments and 36,000 square feet of office, restaurant and retail space is rising on an Elizabeth site that has been vacant for three decades, after earlier development proposals fell apart.
For developer Sal Garcia, principal of MAS Development Group, the
The project, called Vinty for vintage city, is expected to open next spring on 2.5 acres near an NJ Transit train station, at the corner of
Union and West Grand streets. The redevelopment is a joint venture of MAS, which is based in Elizabeth, and LeCesse Development Corp. of Altamonte Springs, Florida.
Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage praised Garcia for getting the project underway, after three earlier proposals fell through.
“The determination of Sal and his partners to get the necessary funding in place and the bank loans is what made this work,” Bollwage said. “To get the financing, when we hadn’t had Class A residential development here in years, is a testament to his determination.”
The developer paid the city $2.5 million for the property, and the
project is being financed with $55 million in bank loans and more than $20 million in equity funding. Vinty also has a payment in lieu of taxes or PILOT agreement with the city.
With a location across the street from NJ Transit’s Elizabeth train station, the builders plan to market the complex to workers commuting into New York. The development coincides with a $71 million upgrade to the station, including new station buildings, longer platforms and new elevators to accommodate disabled passengers. The station project is expected to be completed in 2022.
“Elizabeth has watched Jersey City, Hoboken and Harrison develop properties along the train lines. Now it’s going to be our turn,” Bollwage said. “Elizabeth has always been
a prime location for development along the rail line. Unfortunately,
we’ve never been able to connect with the right developer who’s willing to put some risk and capital into the project until now.”
Elizabeth is a designated transit village, under a state program to encourage development near train stations. But Bollwage said that, given the pressures on the state budget, being a transit village doesn’t translate into any grants, loans or other financial aid.
Vinty is being built on a small part
of a property — originally about 18 acres — that was cleared through eminent domain for redevelopment around 1990. The original plan was for a single developer to redevelop the whole site, but the first developer backed out. Then the city realized that the sewer and water service
on the site was inadequate for a large development. Upgrading the
 Sal Garcia
project is personal. Garcia, the
son of Cuban immigrants, was born and raised in Elizabeth and is now raising his own three children in the
city, New Jersey’s fourth-largest with a population of 129,000 people.
“I love my city,” said Garcia, 38.
By Kathleen Lynn
 A new mixed-use building known as Vinty will bring 267 upscale apartments and 36,000 square feet of office, restaurant and retail space to the corner of Union and West Grand streets in Elizabeth, the site of a long-vacant redevelopment parcel near an NJ Transit train station.
Courtesy: MAS Development Group








































































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