By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
FORT MONMOUTH – Following last week’s exclusive report that Netflix has expressed interest in purchasing a recently created Fort Monmouth “Mega Parcel” totaling some 289 acres, reliable sources have confirmed the existence of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), preventing some involved from discussing the matter publicly.
At the July 21 monthly meeting of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), held via teleconference, voting members unanimously approved the creation of a Mega Parcel encompassing most remaining Fort Monmouth properties in Eatontown and Oceanport, including the high profile 80-acre former Parcel B along Route 35 inside the Johnson Gates. (Fort Monmouth’s 1,126 acres encompass portions of Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls).
Five people with direct knowledge of Netflix’s interest, who requested anonymity, confirmed the entertainment company’s response to Gov. Phil Murphy’s office after he reached out in April to film and entertainment entities doing business in Georgia, including Netflix. Murphy offered financial and other incentives if the firms move their operations to New Jersey from Georgia after that state enacted restrictive voting legislation. In a letter, 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… New Jersey is now a top contender for your business.”
When The Two River Times reached out to the governor’s office for comment this week, we were sent a transcript of Murphy’s response to a reporter’s question at an event last week, which read as follows:
“No news on this. I read a (Two River Times) piece yesterday that came out… Fort Monmouth is an incredibly important opportunity for us as a state, and getting that into the very best shape possible is something that we care deeply about. I’m a Monmouth County guy myself so it’s not just abstract, it’s personal, and I’ll leave it at that. But we’re very excited about the Fort and its future, and just generally very excited about our film, television, and digital future as well…we’ll leave it there.”
Wording in the FMERA document creating the Mega Parcel refers to “film and digital media” along with other expanded acceptable uses. Fort Monmouth has been the site of entertainment uses in recent years, including the filming of scenes for Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and a video game company. Requests for comment from Netflix representatives have gone unanswered. Sources said the company has also looked at other New Jersey sites.
The 100-year-old fort, ordered closed in 2005 through the federal government’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process aimed at efficiency and cost savings, was shuttered in 2011. Approximately 5,000 civilian jobs were lost. Area veterans who continued to visit the fort suffered, as did nearby businesses that served military personnel on the U.S. Army base, with some closing for good.
Redevelopment has been guided by a master Reuse Plan enacted some 10 years ago that provides parameters, requirements and guidelines for each property put up for sale. To date, 29 parcels have been sold, with several already redeveloped and operating in new capacities. Opening soon are the Fort Athletic Club, The Loft microbrewery and event space and a New Jersey City University campus.
In creating the Mega Parcel, FMERA staff cited revised definitions of what constitutes “the highest and best use” of fort parcels based on changes in the marketplace. Staff wrote:
“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… 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…”
Properties included in the Mega Parcel are the 400 Area in Oceanport, part of the borough’s Horseneck Development District of Oceanport Avenue, the 100,000-square-foot McAfee Center, a former re- search and development facility on 45 acres, and portions of the for t’s Historic District including the Parade Ground, World War II Memorial and Cowan Park. Those sites must be preserved, with designated historic structures required to be adaptively reused.
Timeline
A new Request for Offers to Purchase (RFOTP) for the Mega Parcel is currently being finalized. By law, Netflix must go through the competitive bid process established over 10 years ago. Sources said the RFOTP will most likely be released in September. Timelines for the steps after that, including a 90-day period for potential buyers to submit proposals, are formally delineated. Given the holiday season, a January 2022 due date for bids is likely.
Bid proposals are evaluated by a FMERA staff committee following strict criteria. Once the top bidder is determined, staff recommends that firm for approval by the FMERA board, which includes local, state and county officials. The approved bidder then undertakes a lengthy “due diligence” period during which they fully examine the site with engineers and other experts. On many occasions, especially during the pandemic, approved bidders request and receive time extensions to complete that process.
A Purchase and Sale Agreement is created, which can include as many as 100 pages of precise criteria with a checklist, which must be adhered to by the purchaser, right down to the location of trees in the final landscaping. A Certificate of Completion is not issued by FMERA until every item is checked off the list. The entire process is overseen by the state Attorney General’s office.
Local approvals by the municipalities’ planning boards and governing bodies are also part of the process. Once a contract is signed and a closing completed, the firm must solicit its own bids for plans and architectural designs, site preparation including the installation of utilities, construction and more. Given all that, and based on previously completed fort projects, the “first shovel in the ground” could be two to four years away.
Originally, the Reuse Plan projected the fort’s full transformation to last about 20 years. That was reduced to about 10 years after Monmouth County enacted a financial plan conceived by Commissioner Lillian G. Burry of Colts Neck, the county’s longtime FMERA representative, who is also a realtor. Working with the Monmouth County Improvement Authority, the county in essence “bought out” the Army’s financial interest.
The lengthy and complex additional review and approval processes required when the Army still owned substantial portions of the fort added months of bureaucratic hurdles. Weeks before the emergence of Netflix’s interest, FMERA chairman Robert Lucky predicted redevelopment could be completed within five years.
“Until we see the final RFOTP and see what the bid documents hold in store, I’m reserving judgment, but am excited about this type of development,” Oceanport Mayor Jay Coffey, an attorney, said Aug, 3. “The devil will be in the details. Eatontown Mayor Anthony Talerico and their council, along with our borough council, will work together to make sure this works for Eatontown and Oceanport, if it does come to fruition.”
This article originally appeared in the Aug. 5-11, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
