By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
FORT MONMOUTH – The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) held its regular monthly meeting remotely Aug. 19, with participants calling in from throughout the state under ongoing coronavirus restrictions. “FMERA continues to engage with leads and prospective purchasers,” said Sarah Giberson, FMERA marketing and development manager, adding that less than 25 percent of fort land is still available. “FMERA remains focused on its mission, and will continue to market remaining parcels for redevelopment while monitoring ongoing projects and providing additional support to developers to ensure the successful redevelopment of properties currently under contract. Developers and approving entities have adapted to new ways of working. Projects continue to make excellent progress.”
New Date for Suneagles Golf Course Deal
Martelli Development Group LLC, of Little Silver, entered into an agreement to purchase the fort’s Suneagles Golf Course and its historic Gibbs Hall banquet facility in August 2017. Later that year, Martelli also executed a Use and Occupancy License to serve as the course’s operator, improving it since then. Required procedures toward completing the sale have continued, including assessments of the property and its buildings, obtaining approvals and permits, and more. Closing was originally set for March 9, 2020, but has been extended several times.
In April, Martelli requested an extension due to delays in planning board hearings and third-party approvals, including from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, some due to COVID-19-related delays. The new agreed-upon date is Dec. 1, 2020.
Located in the Eatontown section of the fort, the 171-acre Suneagles property includes an 18-hole golf course designed by A.W. Tillinghast, Gibbs Hall – a 37,125-square-foot banquet hall listed on the National Register of Historic Places – a sports bar and a golf maintenance building, and 42 vacant U.S. Army officer housing units known as Megill Housing. Martelli will renovate Gibbs Hall, restrict the golf course to solely golf use for 40 years, and construct 75 new housing units broken out as 60 luxury condominium townhomes and 15 affordable rental apartments. The Megill Housing units will be demolished. The firm will pay $5 million for the property with a total capital investment of $29 million.“We really need this to close,” said Robert Lucky, Ph.D., FMERA interim chairman, who said water damage from a sprinkler system failure in Gibbs Hall in July 2019 resulted in an insurance claim of $732,521. “We agreed to split it 75 percent Martelli and 25 percent FMERA. If they don’t close on Dec. 1, we get to keep it. We’re hoping for six potential closings next year. Some look good, some are maybes, and some are long shots.”
Bowling Center Advances
Approved by the Eatontown Planning Board Aug. 6, awarded one of 12 special liquor licenses granted to new Fort Monmouth projects, and officially named The Alley at the Fort, the base’s former bowling center will soon begin construction. Plans are to renovate and expand the facility located on 2.8 acres along Route 537, known as the Avenue of Memories through the fort, into an entertainment center that will include a restaurant, bar, bowling, bocce, private events and nightlife. A new logo recently debuted on Instagram. The public can also keep up with progress and sign up to receive email information at thealleyatthefort.com, where people can also apply for jobs.
Drive into the Indie Film Festival
Joining the drive-in craze providing controlled entertainment options for a COVID-fatigued public, Red Bank’s Indie Street Film Festival is kicking off its fifth annual event on Fort Monmouth. The documentary film “Class Action Park” about the late 1970s to mid-80s Action Park amusement complex in Vernon, Sussex County, and its late owner, Eugene Mulvihill, will be screened Thursday, Sept. 17 in the parking lot between Malette Hall and the Expo Theater on the Avenue of Memories in the fort’s Eatontown section.
Tickets are $40 per car. Doors open 6:30 p.m. for a 7:15 start. A brief question and answer session with filmmaker Seth Porges will follow the screening. The film is being released on HBO Max. Remaining festival films and related programming will take place online Sept. 18 through 23. United States-based viewers can see all 47 selections for $40. All access passes are available through indiestreetfilmfestival.org/attend.“Let’s all gather together in a parking lot to watch the crazy real-life rise and fall of the most dangerous theme park to ever exist,” said Jay Webb, festival artistic director in a statement.
This article originally appeared in the Aug. 27 print edition of The Two River Times.
