US News

ESTATE OF ECKO A $$ WRECK-O

A man’s home is his castle – and in T-shirt designer Marc Ecko’s case, it’s also a money pit.

Ecko’s 30-acre Bernardsville, NJ, estate, called Stronghold, has cost the entrepreneur nearly $30 million and embroiled him in a string of legal hassles. It’s a sign that the personal fortune of Ecko, who built a $1.5 billion clothing empire, is fraying at the seams.

The flashy fashionista – whose signature style includes hip-hop and graffiti-inspired designs – has more than $2.1 million in construction liens against him for work on the 110-year-old estate.

Ecko and his wife, Allison, bought Stronghold for $7.4 million in 2005. Over the past 2½ years, they have hired at least seven contractors to perform $21.8 million in construction on the 30,000-square-foot brownstone castle, according to court documents and sources.

The work included marble and metal restoration, and renovations of the pool, grotto and interior rooms. But construction halted in August after payments lagged and Ecko’s promises of obtaining a new mortgage to cover the costs didn’t materialize, according to a source.

“There are lot of casualties in the wake. Small trades are just getting walloped,” the source said about the effect on the contractors. “[The estate] is such a white elephant. Normally, the builders would stick around and try to make money by selling the place. But in a perfect market, they couldn’t sell it for years.”

The castle, which was built by Prudential Insurance founder and US Sen. John Dryden in 1899, has four kitchens and eight bedrooms. Ecko planned to build his office in the castle’s tower.

The designer and his wife lived in a colonial they owned on an adjacent property, according to the source. That home is now listed for sale at $1.299 million by Coldwell Banker.

Ecko spokeswoman Laurie Baker said the designer was only aware of a $1.7 million lien from one contractor, Talbot Construction, and that more than half of it is based on work that hasn’t yet started.

“They are working with the contractors to resolve this amicably,” Baker said.

In November, Ecko Enterprises broke a multiyear lease at an old Times Square theater where it had planned to build a three-level flagship store.

jfanelli@nypost.com