By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
TINTON FALLS – The 40-acre Patriot’s Square residential development located opposite the township’s municipal complex on Kelly Way and across Tinton Avenue from Monmouth Regional High School is nearing completion, but the commercial component has been delayed by economic and pandemic-related concerns.
Formerly a wooded portion of Fort Monmouth, the property was sold in 2015 to national home developer Lennar by the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), one of the first sales in its decade-long effort to redevelop the 1,126-acre U.S. Army base encompassing portions of Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls. Site work began in 2019.
Patriots Square consists of 185 townhomes with three different floor plans ranging from 1,250 to 2,400 square feet. Three-story units have three bedrooms, three baths and two-car garages. Two story homes, all of which are sold, have two or three bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths, and one-car garages. Homeowners’ association fees are $196 a month. Amenities include a dog park, playground and volleyball court. As of Feb. 15, 123 of the townhomes have closed, according to Dana Romano, Lennar vice-president of sales and marketing.
“We expect to be sold out by early fall,” she said, adding the residential portion of the construction, comprising 20 buildings, is in its final stages. The community also includes 60 affordable units in addition to the 185 market-rate priced homes.
When construction began on the Patriot’s Square townhouses, prices ranged from $354,000 to $494,000. As of this week, the lowest priced unit listed for sale was priced at $665,900. Nearby, also on former fort property, Lennar constructed Anthem Place, a community of 45 detached single-family homes on 15 acres. Built and sold between 2019 and 2020, the homes ranged from the mid-to-high $600,000s and quickly sold out.
Fourteen of Patriot’s Square’s 40 acres is dedicated to the retail/commercial portion of the “mixed-use” redevelopment, as mandated by FMERA’s original master Reuse Plan. The large dirt pile on the currently vacant site directly across from the Tinton Falls municipal complex is being used as topsoil for the residential section, Romano said.
“We are currently reassessing the market and will list the site again, probably within the next few weeks,” Romano said, adding that Lennar doesn’t do commercial projects, but works with and sells its commercial sites to other developers, which FMERA was aware of when the property was sold. Therefore, specifics of commercial construction on the site – size, number of storefronts and potential tenants – are not currently available.
“The site will be extremely desirable as it’s next to a new residential community,” said Romano, adding businesses like a coffee shop, pizza parlor or drive-thru restaurant would be desirable to Patriot’s Square residents.
The article originally appeared in the February 17 – 23, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
