June 22, 2012
FMERA BOARD APPROVES MASTER BROKER TO INCREASE EXPOSURE, MAXIMIZE VALUE AND STIMULATE INVESTMENT AT FOMER POST
EATONTOWN, NJ – The Board of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) has approved Cushman & Wakefield/Continental Realty as the primary broker of the former Fort Monmouth property. Pursuant to the Request for Proposals (RFP), Cushman & Wakefield will provide master broker services to market, sell and lease the property to increase awareness of the Fort’s opportunities, maximize value, and stimulate investment and job creation.
The RFP, issued on April 16, 2012, established that contracts would be awarded to the two highest scoring firms, a primary broker, and an alternate broker to be used only in the event of a conflict of interest. As such, the Board approved Jones Lang LaSalle as the alternate broker. The master broker will advance an effort consistent with the shared goals and interests of FMERA and the U.S. Army, and in alignment with the redevelopment goals and objectives established by the Reuse and Redevelopment Plan.
“The approval of the master broker is an essential step as we continue our revitalization efforts to attract companies and jobs to the property,” said FMERA Board Chairman James V. Gorman. “With these qualified firms on our team, we are now in a better position to advance FMERA’s mission and create an atmosphere in which employers will employ and investors will invest, to maximize the jobs created and the value of the property.”
Totaling over 1,100 acres and spanning the municipalities of Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls, Fort Monmouth served as the center for development of communications, computers, intelligence and reconnaissance for the U.S. Army for more than 90 years.
“From its ideal location to the region’s highly skilled workforce, this property boasts remarkable assets that we want companies across the United States and throughout the world to know about,” said FMERA Executive Director Bruce Steadman. “The master broker will allow us to increase awareness and ensure we are able to obtain the best possible jobs and highest possible value for the property.”
The Board also approved interim guidelines for the review of redevelopment plans, the Authority’s mandatory conceptual review and the consent to Tinton Falls’ adoption of a redevelopment plan for Parcel E.
These actions come on the heels of the May 17 signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), a significant milestone in the redevelopment of the Fort property. The MOA is the overarching accord between the Army and FMERA that lays out the process by which the property will be transferred to FMERA. The MOA set forth a two-phased process for the property transfer. Phase 1 consists of Charles Wood, and three parcels from the Main Post, to be transferred to FMERA by February 1, 2013. Phase 1 parcels include the Golf Course, Howard Commons, Marina, Clinic parcel, Parcel E, Parcel F, Parcel C, Parcel C1 and Parcel B, totaling just over 600 acres. Phase 2 would include the balance of the Main Post, which will be transferred to FMERA at a time soon to be determined.
FMERA has achieved several other noteworthy accomplishments as it works to attract investors, developers and employers to the property. This includes continuing negotiations with AcuteCare, a company that would create 200 new jobs and invest an estimated $15 million to renovate a facility on the 16-acre former Clinic Parcel in Oceanport. The Board also approved a purchase-sale agreement with CommVault, a leading data management software company that would construct a new, 650,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art headquarters on Parcel E in Tinton Falls that could house up to 2,500 employees at full build out.
In August 2010, Governor Chris Christie signed into law the “Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority Act,” creating FMERA and charging it with advancing the Reuse and Redevelopment Plan authored by FMERA’s predecessor agency, the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) staffs FMERA, which currently has eight employees working out of an office in Eatontown.
Led by Chairman Gorman, FMERA Board members include EDA Chairman Alfred Koeppe, Governor’s Authorities Unit Director Regina Egea, Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Burry, Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo, Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon, Tinton Falls Mayor Michael Skudera, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard E. Constable III, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin, New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Harold Wirths, New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner James Simpson, and Public Members Dr. Robert Lucky and Robert Ades.
For more information on FMERA, visit www.fortmonmouthredevelopment.com.