By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
FORT MONMOUTH – During the past decade of redevelopment at Fort Monmouth, various projects have evolved based on factors from changing market conditions to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) maintains a master Reuse Plan for the 1,126-acre fort, attempting to balance the needs and desires of developers with neighbors in Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls.
After last month’s revelation that Netflix is the top-ranked bidder for the fort’s 292-acre Mega Parcel – the last substantial unsold property on the former fort – FMERA staff will next present a Purchase and Sale & Redevelopment Agreement (PSARA) to the agency’s voting members. There was no date for that as of press time. If the PSARA is approved, mandatory preconstruction hurdles could push the start of construction of a production studio two to three years into the future, assuming Netflix opts to proceed.
Meanwhile, actions regarding other projects were taken during FMERA’s Nov. 2 monthly meeting.
Nurses Quarters Townhomes Changed To Rentals
Redevelopment of the former Nurses Quarters at Main Street and Stephenson Avenue by RPM Development Group of Montclair began with its purchase of the 3.75- acre site in 2019. In addition to converting the two existing 1962 buildings into 24 rental units, the firm long sought to build 10 new “for sale” townhomes on the site.
Last week, the FMERA board voted unanimously to allow RPM to instead make those “for sale” homes rental units with footage reduced to 1,850 square feet and no homeowners association.
According to FMERA documents, RPM notified the agency in August that it wished to modify the project, “citing a change in market conditions that indicate demand for a small for sale community would not be economically profitable given the site constrictions requiring a shared driveway for the townhouses.”
The Nurses Quarters shared driveway with AcuteCare Management Services and the Beacon of Life senior residences on the site of the former Patterson Clinic presented challenges to the project from the beginning.
“A variety of factors went into our decision-making to request the shift to rental homes versus for sale homes, but at the end of the day it made the most sense for our company considering the number of units, size constraints of the site, and market demand for certain features in for-sale townhomes we felt we could not accommodate,” wrote Susannah Henschel, RPM vice president of development, in response to an email from The Two River Times Monday. “We also determined during the design process that the development will include one main entrance/ exit onto Main Street for both the townhomes and the existing units; it will not share the use of Stephenson with Beacon. This will be much easier to manage through one ownership entity than create a shared responsibility between a Homeowners Association and our management team.”
Henschel explained that a homeowners association is necessary when a development shares responsibility for amenities such as driveways with a small number of units and can “be cumbersome to manage.”
“RPM had come to the Oceanport Planning Board, and the changes in the actual plans were based on suggestions made by our planning board,” said Mayor Jay Coffey yesterday. “The change from sale to rental was not an issue with the board.”
RPM also requested and received a six-month extension to the approval period previously set to expire Jan. 14, 2023, citing the time needed to gain approvals of the changes from FMERA and Oceanport and in light of the upcoming holiday season. The extension runs until July 14, 2023.
“Construction dates will depend on the timing of review and approval of our plans by Oceanport and FMERA,” Henschel continued. “We plan to file our site plan applications with both before the end of the year.”
“If FMERA has not mandated a specific housing type through the Request for Offers to Purchase process, the unit type, market-rate or rental, is at the developer’s discretion,” said Sarah Giberson, FMERA senior marketing and real estate development officer. “RPM had already received approval from Oceanport to develop rental units instead of for sale units, provided FMERA would be open to amending the contract. The developer’s rationale, along with support of the borough, led FMERA to recommend this change to our board.”
Warehouse District Adds Potential Usage
Denholtz Properties of Red Bank, now owner/redeveloper of the fort’s 26-acre former Commissary, Post Office and Warehouse District, has won approval to add research and development to the list of allowable uses on the property.
As The Two River Times has reported, the Commissary, now called Commissary at Baseline, was the first to open, with a new brewery now operating and work beginning shortly on a production facility for MGT Foods of Keyport and a new restaurant/sports bar from BarCo brands, owner of Deal Lake Bar & Co. in Loch Arbour. The developer has been demolishing other structures on the site, preparing to construct 72,400 square feet of industrial/flex space in three buildings, scheduled for completion next year. “Citing changes to market conditions brought about by Covid-19, in particular the decline of traditional office occupancy, purchaser requested… a modification to the project description to include additional research and development uses as permitted… to attract a larger potential pool of tenants,” FMERA staff wrote in recommending the change. Allowable uses on the parcel now include office, food services, research and development, dance schools, martial arts, yoga/Pilates studios, or similar uses involving group instruction and flex-space/warehouse space. Contacted Nov. 4, a spokesperson for Denholtz said, “There is no prospective tenant at this point” that prompted the company’s request to add the research and development use.
Water Tower Refurbishment Underway
When Scott Marchakitus and his partners purchased the fort’s former gymnasium to create the military-inspired Fort Fitness Center, opened in 2021, they opted to retain the property’s landmark water tower to honor the fort’s legacy.
“We think the water tower is the perfect representation of the history at Fort Monmouth,” Marchakitus said at the time. With that decision came an obligation to refurbish the structure, but supply chain issues, labor shortages, the presence of protected bird nests and inclement weather delayed the effort.
On Nov. 2, two workers waved down from the catwalk where work was beginning on the painting project, due to be completed within three weeks, again depending on the weather, Marchakitus said. The Fitness Center is located along Route 537 in the Oceanport section, known as the Avenue of Memories through the fort.
The article originally appeared in the November 10 – 16, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
