Netflix Studios, Three Other Firms Bid On Fort Monmouth Mega Parcel

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FMERA executive director Kara Kopach, center, and senior marketing & real estate development manager Sarah Giberson, right, watched administrative manager Regina McGrade open the bid portfolio from Netflix. Laura D.C. Kolnoski

By Laura D.C. Kolnoski

FORT MONMOUTH – It was over in 10 minutes. The long-awaited, highly anticipated opening of bids to purchase and redevelop a 292-acre portion of Fort Monmouth was officially conducted at 12:30 p.m. Monday, June 6. The small audience present for the opening included representatives from Netflix, the highest profile firm seeking to redevelop the property which spans parts of Eatontown and Oceanport. 

Three of the four bids were contained in standard manila envelopes; the bid from Netflix came in a sizeable black box wrapped with a red cardboard box sleeve. 

The proceedings took place at the offices of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) located in the fort’s former library. FMERA administrative manager Regina McGrade opened the proposals, with FMERA executive director Kara Kopach and senior marketing & real estate development manager Sarah Giberson observing. 

In addition to Netflix, bids were submitted by Extell Acquisitions LLC; Mega Parcel Development LLC; and RDR Partners, LLC, comprised of Russo Development, LLC, Dinallo Development, LLC, and River Development Equities, LLC. Only the names of the bidders were announced, and later posted on the FMERA website, fortmonmouthnj.com, with the following statement: 

“No additional information will be provided at this time. Pursuant to FMERA’s sales rules, offer documents are not public until the execution of the contract. In keeping with FMERA’s standard evaluation process and its sales rules, FMERA’s Evaluation Committee will review submitted proposals for compliance, and proposals will be scored based on the evaluation criteria… FMERA will make no representations relative to the highest scoring proposal until the staff is prepared to recommend the approval of a Purchase and Sale Agreement and Redevelopment Agreement to the FMERA Board. Please be advised that this process may take several months.” No bid amounts were revealed. 

Jeffrey Donner of Donner Law, Neptune Township, attended as the attorney for Mega Parcel Development LLC, headed by Joseph Saadia, a businessman and investor with offices in North Brunswick and Manhattan.

“Mr. Saadia’s proposal is live-work-play,” Donner said. “He believes that is what FMERA is looking for.” When asked about competing against Netflix for the parcel, Donner said Saadia’s proposal is “absolutely” as strong as the entertainment giant’s, adding, “Our consultants are at the top of the profession.” According to Donner’s website, he helps obtain development approvals for a “broad range of projects for developers and national chains.”

RDR Partners’ River Development Equities, with offices in Red Bank, are “Re-developers of Urban Properties” according to the group’s website. Among its projects is the Metropolitan residential/retail structure in downtown Red Bank. The firm is working with Russo Development on a city center for East Brunswick on 44 acres off Route 18 that will feature 1,200 residential units, a transit center and retail, entertainment, hospitality and lifestyle components. Russo Development of Carlstadt is known for its seven Vermella residential/commercial developments in New Brunswick, Paramus, Newark and other New Jersey cities. Dinallo Construction of Wood-Ridge is responsible for buildings on college campuses including Rowan, Stockton Rutgers and Montclair State universities, historical restorations and governmental buildings under its Terminal Construction banner.

Extell, headquartered in Manhattan and known for skyscrapers, built The Lofts at Pier Village in Long Branch.

As the formal bid opening ended, two attendees confirmed they were representatives of Netflix but declined to comment. The Two River Times reached out to a Netflix spokesperson Tuesday. Beyond confirming its bid was submitted, the spokesperson offered no further comment, but pointed to a Netflix statement from October 2021 when the company confirmed its interest in the Mega Parcel. That statement read, “America’s first movie studio was in New Jersey, and today it’s home to many talented people working in entertainment. Governor Murphy and the state’s legislative leaders have created a business environment that’s welcomed film and television production back to the state, and we’re excited to submit our bid to transform Fort Monmouth into a state-of-the-art production facility.”

Also witnessing the bid opening was a man who said he was from Electrician’s Local 400 but declined to give his name or comment. Michael Edmondson, director of New Jersey City University at Fort Monmouth, now operating in the fort’s redeveloped Squier Hall, said he attended because, “We’re going to be their neighbors. It makes sense to be forward-thinking and understand who’s coming.” 

Eatontown Mayor Anthony Talerico, the only FMERA voting member in attendance, said the number of bids was about what he expected.

“The successful development of the Mega Parcel is instrumental to the borough of Eatontown and the region,” he noted. 

Uses allowed on the site stated in the parcel’s Request for Offers to Purchase and aligned with the fort’s master plan for redevelopment include life sciences, information and high tech, clean energy, food and beverage, and film and digital media. The Mega Parcel’s redevelopment focus aligns with the governor’s economic plan to “bolster the innovation economy” to create more jobs and revitalize the 100-year-old U.S. Army base closed in 2011.

The circuitous history of the Mega Parcel, the largest property offered for sale by FMERA, comprising about 20 percent of the fort’s total 1,126-acres, was detailed in the bid-opening preview published May 26 in The Two River Times.

As one person said while leaving the bid opening event, “And now we wait.”

The article originally appeared in the June 9 – 15, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.