By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
FORT MONMOUTH – The penultimate draft of the Request for Offers to Purchase 290 acres of Fort Monmouth termed the “Mega Parcel” is nearing final bureaucratic review. Officials said the document should appear under “Bidding Opportunities” on the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) website later this month.
Potential bidders monitoring fortmonmouthnj.com for the release include Netflix. Multiple sources close to the matter have exclusively told The Two River Times the global entertainment and media firm is interested in creating a complex there. The Mega Parcel, which combines properties of varying acreages not previously offered for sale or sold, has also attracted other developers, officials said.
The fort spans 1,126 acres over three towns – Eatontown, Oceanport, and Tinton Falls. The Mega Parcel encompasses most of the remaining acreage.
The largest portion of the Mega Parcel, previously labeled Parcel B, originally included 55 acres inside the Route 35 Johnson Gates entrance before being expanded to 80 acres by FMERA to attract a wider range of bidders. Elaborate multiuse plans for Parcel B were proposed by different developers for almost a decade, but none materialized. The economy, deteriorating retail sales and the pandemic were cited as reasons.
Also included in the Mega Parcel is the 100,000-square-foot circa 1997 McAfee Center, a former research and development facility on 45 acres.
“Multiple interested parties have contacted us about the Mega Parcel RFOTP,” said Bruce Steadman, FMERA executive director Oct. 4.
After The Two River Times reported Netflix’s interest July 29, the reporter was contacted by a developer who said his firm had unsuccessfully bid on two fort projects in the past and planned to bid on Parcel B before the Netflix revelation. The caller indicated his firm wanted to be part of whatever Mega Parcel project is eventually undertaken. Identities of bidders on fort RFOTPs are not disclosed until a Purchase and Sale Agreement with the winning bidder is finalized and announced.
Once the Mega Parcel RFOTP is introduced, bidders have about 90 days to submit proposals that adhere to its specific guidelines and parameters. As many fort properties have already been sold and redeveloped, language was added to the RFOTP to ensure whoever develops the Mega Parcel “does not impinge upon, and considers, the boundaries of neighbors,” officials said.
“FMERA does not craft RFOTPs in direct response to one individual request; we can’t and don’t do that,” Steadman said. “It’s the highest and best use that’s considered, on a level playing field, with a transparent process that facilitates competition in accordance with our mandate. We expect to process this RFOTP like the rest.”
During the Sept. 29 monthly FMERA meeting, held via teleconference, officials said the U.S. Army is entitled to net proceeds from the sale of about 20 percent of the Mega Parcel at closing. That acreage was part of the first, early phase of the fort’s redevelopment when the Army was still involved. Several years ago, Monmouth County and the county’s Improvement Authority crafted an arrangement that effectively “bought out” the Army’s financial interest in the former base. In addition to the state Comptroller and Attorney General’s Office, the RFOTP draft is being reviewed by the Army due to its 20 percent financial interest.
The release of the Mega Parcel RFOTP comes at a time when movie and television production in New Jersey is thriving. On Oct. 1, the state issued a press release stating, “The New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission announced that overall in-state production spending from filmmaking will exceed half a billion dollars in 2021… three years after Governor Phil Murphy reinstated the film and television tax credit program and less than a year after the program was expanded.” In August, Murphy helped cut the ribbon on Cinelease Studios in Jersey City, now the state’s largest film studio.
“New Jersey’s film production industry has undergone explosive growth in the last four years,” Murphy said. “It is generating very significant revenue for our cities and towns, creating thousands of jobs and promoting permanent, bricks-and-mortar development. The most exciting part of it all is that we are just getting started.”
Sources confirmed to The Two River Times that it was Murphy’s incentive program, and his direct outreach to firms filming in Georgia after that state enacted new voting laws, that resulted in a response from Netflix.
Water Tower Plans
Stalled by COVID-19
The Fort Athletic Club in Fort Monmouth’s former fitness center, expected to fully open this month, will retain its existing adjacent water tower, but plans to paint it and add the club logo have been delayed.
“Our original paint contractor withdrew his proposal citing supply chain issues and labor shortages,” said club CEO Scott Marchakitus. “We are in the midst of gathering addition proposals, but due to the challenges, as well as (the coming winter) weather, we have asked for an extension through June 2022. We really wanted to keep the iconic tower and plan to paint it white and have our logo at the top. We are all about honoring the past and think the water tower is the perfect representation of the history at Fort Monmouth.”
Marchakitus said after months of waiting, the club’s basketball hoops and lockers arrived last week. A full opening is expected this month following last month’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The article originally appeared in the October 7 – 13, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
