A 258-unit apartment complex called Ecco is taking shape at 250 Union St. in Elizabeth, with foundation work finished across the entire site and wood framing already climbing in one section of the building. The project sits in the city's Midtown-Vintage City district, just steps from the recently overhauled Elizabeth Train Station, and developers say it represents the next major chapter in a multi-block downtown transformation years in the making.
According to NJ.com, general contractor March Associates is using a phased construction approach that divides the building into four quadrants, allowing different sections to progress simultaneously. Area B has the furthest-advanced progress, with a completed stair and elevator tower and wood framing already underway, while Areas C and D remain in intermediate stages of framing. JLL describes the development as five stories over a concrete parking podium containing 278 parking spaces, while NJ.com describes four-story wood-framed apartments over a parking garage, and mock-up windows have already been delivered to the site for review.
Ecco broke ground in December 2025, and NJ.com's coverage states the project is planned for completion in December 2027. LeCesse Development Corp. and MAS Development Group are developing the project, with Baker Barrios Architects handling design, Neglia Engineering serving as civil engineer, and Forum Design overseeing interiors.
Financing Package Backs the Build
The construction is underpinned by a substantial capital stack arranged earlier this year. JLL Capital Markets secured an $83.35 million total capitalization package for Ecco in February 2026, comprising a $63.2 million senior construction loan from Bank OZK and $20.15 million in mezzanine financing from PGIM, according to JLL. The financing was arranged on behalf of the joint venture between LeCesse and MAS Development Group.
Ecco marks Phase 2 of the broader Vintage City redevelopment, following the 2022 completion of Vinty, a 267-unit mixed-use complex at 100 Union St. that leased up within a year, per Multi-Housing News. Vinty includes retail space and a food hall across from the train station, establishing the commercial track record that developers point to as they build out the next phase.
City records show that Elizabeth's Final Draft HUD 5-Year Plan for 2025-2029 identifies the Elizabeth Development Company's Urban Enterprise Zone 5-Year Plan as outlining areas and plans for redevelopment.
Amenities and Unit Features
Once finished, Ecco will offer Class A apartments featuring nine-foot ceilings, stainless steel appliances, and in-unit washers and dryers. Building amenities are planned to include a clubhouse, fitness center, business center, leasing office, outdoor swimming pool, outdoor kitchen and fire pit, and a golf simulator. The ground floor is set to include retail tenants alongside residential units.
MAS Development Group founder and principal Sal Garcia, an Elizabeth native and the son of Cuban immigrants, called Ecco just one piece of a larger shift underway in the neighborhood. “Ecco is only one piece of the tremendous momentum we're seeing throughout Elizabeth's Midtown-Vintage City section,” Garcia said, according to NJ.com's reporting, adding that there is continued investment and transformation happening across Midtown Elizabeth. Garcia, per Visit Elizabeth NJ, began his real estate career at age 17 and previously coached youth league sports in the city before scaling his firm into large-scale urban redevelopment work alongside Florida-based LeCesse.
Tax Incentives and Transit Draw
The project includes a municipal tax incentive component. The development is planned to include ground-floor commercial space.
Ecco's location near the Elizabeth Train Station is a central selling point. The station, on NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor line, underwent a modernization that JLL describes as costing $75 million; the work added expanded high-level platforms and upgraded facilities, per Techno Consult. The station now provides rail access. From that station, riders have rail access to New York City, Newark Penn Station, Newark Liberty International Airport, Trenton, and Princeton.
New Construction Skips Rent Control
The residential complex also sits within walking distance of Union County's new $125 million administrative building, currently under construction and expected to centralize public functions while bringing roughly 700 municipal and county jobs to Midtown Elizabeth, according to real estate analyst Pete Tverdov. That inflow of daytime workers is expected to boost foot traffic for local shops and restaurants near the site.
Tverdov's analysis also points to a regulatory dynamic shaping why developers favor ground-up projects like Ecco over existing housing stock in the city. According to the City of Elizabeth's official City Code, Chapter 5.70 governs rent control and stabilization in the city. Under Elizabeth's municipal rent control ordinance, Chapter 5.70, residential buildings covered based on unit count, ownership structure, and age, including buildings predating roughly 1996, face a 3% annual rent increase cap, while newly constructed units are exempt from Elizabeth's municipal limits. That exemption allows institutional developers to pursue market-rate rents unconstrained by the caps that govern legacy apartment buildings elsewhere in the city.
Elizabeth is New Jersey's fourth-largest city by population, with roughly 137,401 residents, and serves as the county seat of Union County, per JLL's release.
