Vinty at 100 Union St. in Elizabeth — Courtesy: JLL
By Joshua Burd
The developers of a new 267-unit apartment building in Elizabeth have obtained more than $97 million in financing for the downtown property, brokers with JLL announced Tuesday.
The debt placement team, which represented LeCesse Development Corp. and MAS Development Group, said an entity managed by Argentic Investment Management LLC provided the loan in connection with the project at 100 Union St. The transaction follows last year’s completion of what’s known as Vinty, which also has 32,272 square feet of ground-floor retail and commercial space and sits across the street from NJ Transit’s Elizabeth Station.
JLL senior managing directors Michael Klein and Steven Klein, Director Gerard Quinn and Analyst Benjamin Morgenthal led the team that secured the five-year, senior floating-rate loan totaling $97.25 million.
“Vinty represents the first phase of a transformational placemaking community for downtown Elizabeth,” Michael Klein said. “Residents, businesses owners and the overall city will benefit from the vision and sense of community that MAS Development and LeCesse Development have created at Vinty for years to come.”
Located within an Opportunity Zone, which makes the project eligible for federal tax benefits, Vinty has a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units and amenities such as a fitness center, a yoga and cycling studio, a resort-style pool and an outdoor summer kitchen, according to a news release. The commercial space includes a 3,315-square-foot sous vide food hall, a high-end private office and co-working space and a Northfield Bank branch.
“It was a pleasure working with JLL and Argentic,” MAS Development Group’s Sal Garcia said. “They both were able to see that Vinty and Elizabeth are the next big city to experience revitalization in New Jersey.”
JLL noted that tenants can access both the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line at NJ Transit’s Elizabeth station, while they are within walking distance of Broad Street and Morris Avenue, Elizabeth’s main downtown corridors. Also nearby are employers such as Union County College, Trinitas Regional Medical Center and the Union County courthouse, while the site is four miles from the popular downtowns of Cranford and Westfield.
“Argentic quickly recognized the quality of product, including the spaciously appointed units, the abundance of community amenities and the connectivity between the residential and commercial spaces, that the borrower has created,” Steven Klein said. “Argentic was able to provide a highly competitive deal structure that will allow MAS and LeCesse to continue to season the property.”
