By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
FORT MONMOUTH – The “fog” has lifted and hopes are high for clear skies ahead in the ongoing redevelopment of Fort Monmouth. That’s the consensus of property owners who have formed an alliance over the last year to share information and offer mutual support.
Some of the fort’s earliest investor/developers are participating in the Fort Owners Group, including Michael Abboud of TetherView in Russel Hall who is also building a mixed-use retail complex along Oceanport Avenue; Trip Brooks, a longtime area developer who transformed the fort’s 1940s Dance Hall into the Park Loft wedding/event venue; New Jersey City University now operating in Squier Hall; Triumphant Life Church on the Avenue of Memories (Route 537); Trinity Hall, an all-girls high school in the fort’s former Childhood Development Center; the Marina at Oceanport restaurant; and Baseline Social sports bar and Birdsmouth Brewery, located in the old Commissary building.
Chris Champeau, a part owner of the Fort Athletic Club, opened in the fort’s gymnasium in 2021 after a multiyear effort, initiated the effort. Representatives of about 15 out of 27 businesses attended the first meeting, he said.
“As the athletic club got rolling, we found there were other owners who had gone through the same trials, tribulations, red tape and COVID ramifications,” he said. “We’re looking for synergies and how we can help each other. We want to include everybody, like a neighborhood.”
He described FOG as “informal, with no board and no dues,” adding members “are excited” about the pending arrival of the Netflix production studio campus once the entertainment firm’s contract is finalized with the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), anticipated for 2027.
The Fort Athletic Club hosted the first meeting, with Trinity Hall hosting the second. RWJ Barnabas Health, currently constructing a health care facility in the Tinton Falls section of the fort, is expected to host the next meeting, said Champeau, who is also head basketball coach at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School.
Some activities have already occurred. The gym hosted the annual holiday party for Red Bank’s Lunch Break social service organization. Family Promise, part of Lunch Break with a facility at the fort, was the recipient of extra pizzas and chicken wings after a tournament at the club. Lunch Break’s annual “Night Without a Bed” event, which brings attention and funding to the issue of homelessness, filled the gym with cardboard boxes and participants in May.
Through one of the first business-to-business partnerships, Fort Athletic Club members can order food from Baseline Social via a QR code and pick it up at a 10% discount.
“The Fort Owners Group was created to help all owners on the former Army base share great ideas, cross-promote each other’s businesses, and add good paying jobs for years to come,” said Scott Marchakitus, principal club owner. “We want to play a strong role in helping local community and charitable services. Over the next several years, the base will undergo a massive revitalization that will benefit the surrounding towns and local communities. As one of the first businesses to open, The Fort Athletic Club hopes to help the families of Oceanport and adjacent towns live a healthier lifestyle.”
Kara Kopach, FMERA executive director, attends FOG meetings, providing updates and information. She said the authority will promote the group at public meetings, through social media, and more.
“A group like FOG provides an opportunity for developers and tenants to network, stay up to date on openings and events, and so much more,” Kopach said. “FMERA felt that bringing together the business owners would be an organic way to help support one another in generating business and organizing community events, and for FMERA to understand how it can best support the growing business community as the fort transitions from redevelopment to an active live, work, play community.”
New RiverWalk Tenants Announced
Abboud, whose RiverWalk Center development along Oceanport Avenue is under construction, told The Two River Times tenants Olive and Oak Charcuterie, CKO Kickboxing and Broadway Chicken will join the previously announced Playa Bowls and Nicol Squash. A waterfront restaurant is also part of the plans but no lessee has been announced.
“By maintaining open lines of communication and promoting shared goals, we can collectively drive the development of a thriving community,” Abboud said, adding FOG has helped him connect with his neighbors and build relationships. “TetherView will remain actively involved, contributing to initiatives that support technological innovation and sustainable development within the fort. FOG is essential for ensuring that owners and the public stay connected with ongoing developments at Fort Monmouth.”
“Communication is the single most important part of a coordinated redevelopment project,” said Brooks. “(At) Fort Monmouth, we have the state, New Jersey Economic Development Authority, local municipalities, Netflix, residents and FOG. I have gained the comfort of knowing we will have a unified voice to express our concerns, suggestions and appreciation. This is an extraordinary opportunity for all involved.”
“Our goal is to see the developers and their respective businesses succeed, to bring jobs back and reinvigorate the local economy,” Kopach added. “Our hope is an incredible return on investment for our developers. We want to help spread the word about all the amazing work they are doing and make sure our stakeholders know how many exciting new opportunities are coming online.”
The U.S. Army closed the base in 2011 after almost 100 years. FMERA and its affiliates have been working on the redevelopment of the fort’s 1,126 acres for over a decade.
“We’re so proud to be part of the fort’s redevelopment,” Champeau said. “People are blown away when they see these places that have been developed. We’re fired up!”
The article originally appeared in the July 18 – July 24, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
