By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
OCEANPORT – A developer’s efforts to revive the former Fort Monmouth Commissary’s food-centric legacy in a new incarnation has been recognized with the 2024 Urban Land Institute of Northern New Jersey (ULI NNJ) Excellence Award for Entertainment/ Hospitality.
Renamed The Commissary at Baseline, the shuttered grocery store at 675 Oceanport Way was purchased by Denholtz Properties LLC of Red Bank in 2020, renovated and modernized. It is now home to three food-focused businesses. The award cites the project’s “transformative impact,” “creative, visionary use of space,” service to the community, and encouragement of economic growth.
“Ever since the Fort Monmouth U.S. Army base was decommissioned, residents of the surrounding communities have felt the loss of the once bustling social and economic hub,” said Dan Johnson, account supervisor at R&J Strategic Communications and advisory board member for ULI NNJ. “Where an abandoned grocery store once stood, Denholtz Properties has created a dynamic social and economic center enjoyed by thousands… showing the immense potential of Fort Monmouth.”
Built in 1998, the Commissary was among the fort’s most utilized facilities by military personnel and veterans, operating until the base closed in 2011.
The resurrected building’s first business, opened in August 2022, is Birdsmouth Beer, an all-lager production facility and a tasting room. It was co-founded by Andrew Gioia, the former head brewer of Kane Brewing Company, and Rocco Laginestra, a real estate executive. The venue hosts the public, holds special events and sells its products throughout the state.
In October 2023, Baseline Social, a sports bar, golf, and entertainment complex led by the BarCo Brands culinary group, debuted. The multilevel venue offers dining, a lounge with DJ booth, an area for private events, an outdoor bar, patio and game area; and five simulator bays with seating for golf and other sports.
The third and final tenant is MGT Foods, a food science, production and distribution facility opened late last year by the Emanuele family whose patriarch founded the firm in 1968. MGT Foods, which is not open to the public, makes a variety of its own and private label frozen treats and foodstuffs available at restaurants and markets throughout New Jersey and beyond.
As the renovation project neared completion, Denholtz Properties, led by CEO Steve Denholtz, commissioned well-known metropolitan area street artist Elle to create murals on each side of the Commissary honoring state flora and fauna.
According to its website, the nonprofit ULI NNJ “recognizes projects that embrace its core mission to shape the future of the built environment.” The organization began the Awards for Excellence program in 1979 to highlight notable developments in the private, public and non- profit sectors. Considered are office, residential, retail, industrial, hotel, mixed use, planned community and open space projects. Awards have been bestowed on developments in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. Over 70 nominations were submitted to ULI NNJ for the category Denholtz Properties LLC was the sole recipient of.
Awardees will be honored at a gala April 4 at the Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park and may be considered for the global awards.
“From the moment we visited the Commissary, we saw the tremendous untapped opportunity it presented to our team,” said Steve Lidster, director of development for Denholtz Properties LLC. “Today, our vision is reflected in the success of the bustling businesses that call the property home. We are honored to be recognized by the Urban Land Institute Northern New Jersey.”
Fort Monmouth’s 1,126 acres across portions of Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls are nearing the final phases of the parcel-by-parcel redevelopment begun in 2011. Throughout the three municipalities, new businesses are operating and new residences are filled, with more of both on the way.
The largest remaining property, almost 300 acres, is on track to be purchased by Netflix, which intends to create a major production facility on the site. Monmouth Medical Center, Inc., an affiliate of Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health (RWJBH), purchased the 36-acre former Myer Center property in December 2022. That site at Corregidor Road and Pearl Harbor Avenue will become the Vogel Medical Campus at Tinton Falls, a health care campus to be built in two phases that will include a cancer center and an ambulatory surgery center.
The article originally appeared in the February 22 –28, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
