By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
OCEANPORT – HABcore Inc.’s goal of constructing a 25-unit apartment building on the former Fort Monmouth for veterans and homeless persons is another step closer to fruition.
The purchase, sale and redevelopment agreement between the nonprofit organization and the Fort Monmouth Economic Redevelopment Authority (FMERA) was approved by the authority May 18. It then went to the governor’s desk for a routine 10-day veto period applicable to all fort property sales.
“(The state) sent me the agreement for execution so we’re out of the veto period,” HABcore executive director Steve Heisman told The Two River Times June 6. Now that HABcore has site control and a timeline, he added, the next steps are to sign the contract, secure funding and obtain local approvals and permits.
“We have some funding from FMERA and HOME (federal block grant) funds and will be applying to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and local foundations, but we need to make a big push, not only for construction costs, which have gone up astronomically recently, but for furnishings, program infrastructure needs, etcetera,” he said.
Two appraisals of the site averaged $282,500. HABcore will pay $1 for the property and invest approximately $5 million in the project.
HABcore now enters a six-month due diligence period and an 18-month approval period to complete investigations of the property and secure all approvals. Once begun, construction must be completed within 24 months, although extensions are common for fort redevelopment projects.
The building, which has not yet been designed, will sit on a one-acre parcel on Oceanport Way adjacent to the Monmouth County Emergency Shelter, about a half mile from the Oceanport Municipal Complex. Of the 25 single-room occupancy apartments, 16 will serve the homeless while nine will be reser ved for veterans. Each unit will have a private bathroom and kitchenette. Community and administrative office space can also be included.
An affiliate of Lunch Break of Red Bank, HABcore began working with FMERA, Oceanport Borough and the Affordable Housing Alliance to find a suitable location over a decade ago, a process impacted in part by ongoing sales of fort parcels. Lunch Break’s Family Promise program, supporting families experiencing or at risk of homelessness, moved into a small brick building on the fort in 2017. Providing affordable housing has been part of the fort’s redevelopment plans since their inception.
“We are very excited about the current site as we will be able to build to suit,” Heisman said. He stressed the structure is not an emergency shelter or transitional housing. “We will be incorporating as much support as necessary to ensure we are good neighbors and an asset to the community. We spend a lot of effort… providing support to our residents and do not want to be a drain on local services.”
Citing HABcore’s housing in Red Bank and Asbury Park, Heisman said, “We do not negatively impact the community. I am very confident our team will provide a great home for people that is smoothly integrated into the community.”
The agency was honored by former Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna and unanimously approved by the borough’s planning board to build new units. Asbury Park Mayor John Moor and city council members there have also been actively supportive, he added.
HABcore has selected V.I. Scozzari & Sons, Inc. of Pennington as the contractor. The firm won awards for building Soldier On’s Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Community on Essex Road in Tinton Falls. Scozzari’s other projects include the Visitors Center and Van Gogh Cafe at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton Township, and multiple projects at Rider University in Lawrenceville. Thriven Design of Collingswood is the architect.
“Thriven has been the leading architect for supportive housing for as long as I can remember and designed the Center in Asbury Park 25 years ago, which I believe is a great model,” Heisman said. Thriven’s principal, Steve Schoch, is a longtime trustee of The Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey. Heisman said the design will incorporate energy efficiency.
“Those experiencing homelessness and veterans can tend to isolate,” Heisman said. “Veterans returning from service can have difficulties transitioning from a very structured, communal environment to one which is isolated and completely unsupportive, so we would like to incorporate community as much as possible and allow the residents to be as independent as they want, or access community options and activities as much as they would like.”
While the tenant selection process can sometimes depend on the funding sources, he said, plans are to consider preference for the local population.
Last Friday, HABcore held its Pura Vida Awards fundraising event at Navesink Country Club. A “Drive for Change” Golf Outing at Beacon Hill County Club in Atlantic Highlands is scheduled for Sept. 15. Partners and supporters include area banks, Hackensack Meridian Health, the JBJ Soul Foundation, Monmouth Park Charity Fund, Monmouth-Ocean Development Council, and the Asbury Park, Eastern Monmouth, Jersey Shore, and New Jersey Chambers of Commerce.
Lunch Break volunteers created HABcore in 1988. Today, the organization provides housing for approximately 400 people, including families. HABcore owns properties in Red Bank, Keansburg, Eatontown and Beachwood, and leases other sites throughout Monmouth County. Over the past decade, 80% of departing residents have gone on to live in more independent settings or achieve family reunification.
“Our annual audits consistently show that we maximize our funding at the highest percentile,” Heisman said. “We are really looking forward to being a part of this exciting Fort Monmouth redevelopment process.”
The article originally appeared in the June 12 – 18, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
