Will Georgia’s loss be New Jersey’s Gain?
By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
FORT MONMOUTH – Actions taken at last week’s monthly meeting of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), held via teleconference, could pave the way for major entertainment production companies to bid on at least 289 acres of Fort Monmouth, including the high-profile 80-acre site known as Parcel B along Route 35 in Eatontown.
Five individuals with direct knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity, exclusively confirmed the news to The Two River Times last week.
In April, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sent a letter to film and entertainment companies doing business in Georgia – including Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. – after that state enacted a controversial restrictive voting law. Murphy offered tax and other incentives to lure their Georgia operations to New Jersey.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report that Murphy wrote, “Our new $14.5 billion economic incentive package makes the Garden State just as competitive as Georgia to attract film and television production businesses. When it comes to social policies, corporate responsibility, and – not to be overlooked – economic opportunity, New Jersey is now a top contender for your business.”
Netflix responded to Murphy’s outreach, sources said, and the first public signs of a major production company’s interest in Fort Monmouth appeared during FMERA’s July 21 meeting. The authority’s voting members, including local, county and state officials, unanimously passed a resolution revoking a previous Request for Offers to Purchase (RFOTP) for Parcel B. FMERA has had difficulty finding the right developer to create a “gateway” town center-style mixed-use development there. At various times since 2013, potential developers’ unrealized plans included a movie theater, major retailers, public spaces, residential units and more.
A new RFOTP for a 289-acre “Mega Parcel” was introduced and unanimously approved by FMERA the same evening. While the fort’s 1,126 acres cover portions of Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls, the new RFOTP includes properties in Eatontown and Oceanport only. Most of the Tinton Falls parcels are already spoken for, completed or have construction in progress.
The new Mega Parcel will incorporate Oceanport’s Horseneck Development District, off Oceanport Avenue near Parkers Creek, as well as the 100,000-square-foot McAfee Center, a former research and development facility built in 1997 on 45 acres which was put up for sublease in 2016, but found no takers. It also includes the fort’s historic district. As such, the Parade Ground, World War II Memorial and Cowan Park must be preserved. Designated historic structures must be adaptively reused.
As the July 21 meeting commenced, Sarah Giberson, FMERA marketing and development manager, said the authority is focused on “evaluating the real estate and redevelopment landscape in a post-COVID environment… with the highest and best use of the property and job creation in mind.”
Documents released that evening further state FMERA staff no longer believe the proposed redevelopment plan for Parcel B is the highest and best use and that including the acreage into a larger RFOTP will “support the highest and best use of the fort’s remaining acreage.” New expanded potential uses cited include “film and digital media.”
First offered for sale in 2013, Parcel B’s existing structures were to be demolished and replaced with up to 150,000 square feet of retail and commercial uses with 302 housing units and connectivity to the rest of the redeveloped fort. The original RFOTP did not result in a purchase and sale agreement due to disqualification of the leading proposer. A second RFOTP was issued in 2014. The leading proposer – The Promenade at Fort Monmouth by Paramount Properties – terminated its proposal in February 2018. The second leading proposer, U.S. Home Corporation doing business as Lennar Monmouth Developers, withdrew its bid in June 2020. According to FMERA documents, “Both Para- mount and Lennar ended negotiations with FMERA as a result of uncertainty and significant changes in the retail marketplace.”
A third, amended RFOTP for the site was issued March 14, 2021, offering greater flexibility on the commercial aspects to allow potential purchasers to better respond to the existing marketplace.
“At this time, FMERA has not accepted any proposals for Parcel B,” Bruce Steadman, executive director, said July 22. Netflix representatives did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Proposals for the new Mega Parcel are due July 30. By law, Netflix must go through the established competitive public bid process that has been in place for over 10 years.
“The intent of issuing the Mega Parcel RFOTP is to redevelop the fort with a forward-looking and transformative project that aims to meet the highest standard of economic and sustainable development,” FMERA staff wrote. “In addition to the goals outlined in the Reuse Plan, staff proposes aligning the Mega RFOTP with the Governor’s strategic priorities to overcome the state’s largest economic challenges as described in the Governor’s Economic Plan. FMERA has a strong interest in bolstering the innovation economy to create more and better jobs locally as well as throughout the state, and to further revitalize Fort Monmouth.”
With this Mega Parcel, FMERA wrote, “the fort will be positioned to serve as a regional hub for one of these dynamic industries and further attract other business within and around the Fort Monmouth area.”
“We have great hope this (Mega Parcel) will bring a lot of jobs and economic value,” said Robert Lucky, FMERA chairman. “This takes up a lot of the land that is left.”
To date, 29 fort parcels have been sold. Redevelopments completed and operating in their new incarnations include Trinity Hall school, CommVault, a Monmouth County Recreation Center, The Marina at Oceanport restaurant, AcuteCare, TetherView, Aaski Technologies and the East Gate residential development in renovated historic Officers Housing. Oceanport has moved its municipal operations into renovated structures and Eatontown is in the process of relocating its public works department nearby. Nearing completion are the Fort Athletic Club, The Loft microbrewery and event space, and a New Jersey City University campus.
Projects that have closed or are in line for closing, where work has not yet begun, include the Bowling Center, Expo Theater and an arts community in six former barracks buildings.
Still more parcels were expected to be offered for purchase this year. Among those are Oceanport’s 400 Area near the Little Silver Train Station, slated to become a transit-oriented village.
In the Tinton Falls section, RJW Barnabas Health has been planning since 2018 to create a new health care campus on 36.3 acres where the large Myer Center once stood. That project, due to be built in three phases, has stalled, in part because of a lime pit left by the U.S. Army which occupied the fort for 100 years. The Army is obligated to remediate all environmental issues on the fort.
This article originally appeared in the July 29 – Aug. 4, 2021, print edition of The Two River Times.
