Eatontown Mayor Anthony Talerico Jr., pictured left, with Eatontown borough administrator William P. Lucia III; Robert Calabro, Lennar New Jersey-New York senior vice president of land; Dana Romano, Lennar New Jersey-New York Division president; and Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority interim executive director Laura Drahushak. Sunayana Prabhu
By Sunayana Prabhu
EATONTOWN – Officials from developer Lennar Corporation and the borough broke ground Oct. 21 on a 275-unit housing development at the former Howard Commons site in the Eatontown section of Fort Monmouth. Sales are anticipated to begin in late fall.
The new mixed-use development, called The Premiere at Monmouth, is located along Pinebrook and Hope roads.
The project will also include an up to 40,000-square-foot commercial component on Hope Road.
The nearly 60-acre parcel has been vacant since the former Army base closed in 2011. Howard Commons, built in 1953, was the site of military housing for officers and senior NCOs and included 486 townhomes.
The new development will feature 188 market-rate townhomes, 32 single-family homes and 55 affordable housing units. As the former U.S. Army installation transforms into a vibrant community, Mayor Anthony Talerico Jr. recalled the long process to get to this revitalization.
“Howard Commons was home to hundreds of military families for years, and it was a significant part of the borough. Unfortunately, when it closed and the families moved out, the homes fell to ill repair, and they basically became blighted,” Talerico said. “Over the years it took several different attempts at development to actually have something that sticks.”
Lennar contracted to purchase the site from FMERA in 2021 and closed on the sale in 2025. The Howard Commons homes “are leveled down now, which is sad to see, but the site is now ready for new homes and new families to move in, and I’m looking forward to seeing that,” Talerico said.
The Premiere at Monmouth is approximately 5 miles from the ocean and near an expanding mix of shopping, dining, entertainment and employment opportunities, with nearby NJ Transit service and commuter routes to New York City. The community will also be minutes from the future Netflix Studios East campus; the 292-acre production facility is expected to generate significant employment and economic activity in the region.
This article originally appeared in the October 29-November 4, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
