FMERA Provides Update on Status of Fort Monmouth RFOTPs

With redevelopment of Fort Monmouth well underway, the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) this month reminded developers and other interested parties that responses to the Request for Offers to Purchase (RFOTP) for the Charles Wood Fire Station are due by noon on July 8.

Charles Wood Fire Station on Corregidor Road in Tinton Falls

The property consists of a four-acre parcel containing the approximately 10,070-square-foot former Charles Wood Fire Station on approximately 2.3 acres of land, plus the adjacent 1.7-acre vacant land parcel to the east of the Fire Station across Heliport Drive. The Fort Monmouth Reuse and Redevelopment Plan (Reuse Plan) envisioned reusing the Fire Station for a civic/institutional purpose; however the FMERA Board last year adopted Reuse Plan Amendment #3, which expands the permitted alternative reuse of the Fire Station for commercial/retail use rather than for civic use. The property is close to public transportation, local roads and area amenities, making it an ideal location for redevelopment. A copy of the RFOTP can be found on FMERA’s website.

Responses for an RFOTP for the redevelopment of the Squier Hall Complex were due on June 27. An approximately 31-acre parcel of land containing eight buildings, the property is included in the Oceanport High-Tech and Green Industry Campus Development District. Redevelopment opportunities include educational and office space.

Historic Squier Hall in Oceanport

“With four properties already sold on the Fort and several more under contract, we’re ‘full steam ahead’ with negotiations that will enable developers to restore jobs back to the area and revitalize the region,” Senior Planning and Development Officer Candice Valente said.

During FMERA’s June Board meeting, Valente noted that FMERA received approval to begin exclusive negotiations for the sale and redevelopment of two properties on the Fort:

• FMERA is negotiating with AP Development Partners for the Marina, a property consisting of a 71-slip marina and boat launch ramp on Oceanport Creek, a 2,600-square-foot boat house, two administrative buildings totaling 3,263 square feet, and a 218-square-foot utility building and associated off-street parking. The 3.9-acre parcel is located at Oceanport and Riverside Avenues in Oceanport.
• The FMERA Board previously authorized FMERA staff to enter into exclusive negotiations with Fort Monmouth Parcel B Redevelopment, LLC, for the redevelopment of Parcel B. The expanded parcel includes up to 89 acres for a mixed-use town center along Route 35 to include over 250,000 square feet of retail space and 302 housing units. Fort Monmouth Parcel B Redevelopment, LLC’s redevelopment proposal calls for a total of 302 residential units, 20 percent of which will be affordable to low- and moderate-income households. In addition, the project is proposed to include approximately 350,000 square feet of retail space, and an additional approximately 40,000 square feet of office space. More details about the proposed plan can be found on FMERA’s website.

The Eatontown lifestyle town center, as envisioned in the Fort Monmouth Reuse Plan

Valente also noted that FMERA is in negotiations for the sale and redevelopment for an additional three properties on the Fort:

• In Oceanport, FMERA is in negotiations with the leading bidder for the Nurses’ Quarters, a 24-unit residential complex on Main Street adjacent to the former Patterson Army Hospital in Oceanport. Totaling approximately 18,655 square feet, the former Nurses’ Quarters were built in 1962. The Reuse Plan envisions the buildings being reused for residential purposes.

The Nurses Quarters at Main Street in Oceanport, slated for renovation and reuse

• Also in Oceanport, FMERA is negotiating with the lead proposer for the sale of the former Community Center, better known as the Dance Hall. The 16,000-square-foot recreation building on Brewer Avenue is projected for commercial reuse.
• FMERA is in negotiations with the lead proposer for Howard Commons. The property, a 63.67-acre tract on Pinebrook Road in the Fort’s Charles Wood Area in Eatontown, is zoned for up to 275 homes and up to 15,000 square feet of retail space.