Plans for ECCO, the second phase of Vintage City in Elizabeth, call for a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments with structured parking and ground-floor retail space at 250 Union St. — Rendering courtesy: JLL
By Joshua Burd
A development team has secured more than $83 million in capital to build 258 new luxury apartments in Elizabeth, in the second phase of a project that has won widespread acclaim.
According to JLL, which arranged the transaction, construction is already underway on what’s known ECCO at 250 Union St. and directly across from the newly renovated Elizabeth train station. Its sponsors, Lecesse Development Corp. and MAS Development, are moving ahead with the help of a $63.2 million construction loan from Bank OZK and a $20.15 million mezzanine placement from PGIM, with completion slated for 2027.
The debt placement team noted that ECCO represents the second piece of the broader Vintage City development, which received NAIOP’s Mixed-Use Deal of the Year Award in 2025. The sponsorship team delivered the 267-unit first phase, known as Vinty, in 2022 under a project built by March Associates Construction and subsequently leased up the property within one year, demonstrating strong demand for luxury rental housing in Elizabeth’s downtown core.
ECCO, which will have wood-frame construction over a concrete podium with 278 parking spaces, is slated to have a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom luxury rentals. The five-story, 233,880-square-foot building will also have amenities such as a resort-style pool, a high-end fitness center, a golf simulator, an outdoor kitchen, a business center, a dog park and 3,200 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
Among the project’s many benefits are its direct access to two NJ Transit lines that provide direct routes to New York Penn Station, Newark Liberty International Airport and the Jersey Shore. Renters will also be within walking distance of Union County College, Kean University, Trinitas Regional Medical Center, the Union County Courthouse and the under-construction $125 million Union County Administrative Building.
JLL, meantime, noted that Elizabeth is the county seat of Union County and is New Jersey’s fourth-largest city by population with some 137,401 residents. The municipality has experienced 10.6 percent population growth since 2010, with 73 percent of residents being renters, while Union County has seen average asking rents increase by 18 percent over the past five years while maintaining occupancy rates above 96 percent.
City native spearheading long-awaited redevelopment at Elizabeth transit site
