2016: Another Year of Progress at Fort Monmouth

Building upon momentum generated in previous years, the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) took steps this year that will impact the Monmouth County region for years to come.

FMERA marked a major milestone in November when it closed on $33 million in financing and purchased the balance of Fort Monmouth from the U.S. Army. FMERA now owns or controls the entire 1,126 acres of the Fort. This paves the way for FMERA to close on executed contracts for the Officer Housing, Russel Hall, and the Fitness Center, accelerate closing of six other pending projects, and transfer the Avenue of Memories to the County, opening a thoroughfare that has been closed since Sept. 11, 2001.

FMERA also took action in 2016 to redevelop 238 acres of the Fort. This includes the creation of a permanent home for an all-girls high school and the relocation of a fast-growing technology company to the Fort.

In February, RADAR Properties, LLC purchased an approximately 12.25-acre parcel of land located near Commvault in the Fort’s Charles Wood Area in Tinton Falls. The property includes Building 2525, an 86,400-square-foot, two-story former administration building. After acquiring the property, RADAR Properties leased 30,000 square feet of space to its affiliate Aaski Technology, a defense contractor and communications engineering firm with offices around the United States. In 2014, NJBIZ ranked the company as the seventh-fasted growing business in New Jersey. By consolidating its New Jersey operations at Fort Monmouth, rather than moving to Maryland, Aaski Technology retained 105 jobs in the Garden State and plans to create an additional 25 jobs at Fort Monmouth. FMERA anticipates that the remaining 56,400 square feet of property within Building 2525 will accommodate Aaski’s potential growth, with RADAR seeking to lease any excess space to other technology companies.

In March, FMERA sold the Child Development Center in Tinton Falls to the non-profit corporation Trinity Hall. Establishing a permanent home on the Fort, Trinity Hall converted the 20,000-square-foot former childcare facility into a modern educational setting for high school students. The all-girls school, which opened its doors on the Fort in September, anticipates the creation of 100 new jobs as it looks to continue its growth.

“Aaski Technologies and Trinity Hall have discovered this year what we’ve known for a while: Fort Monmouth is an ideal location for growth,” FMERA Deputy Director Dave Nuse said. “With additional developers and entities looking to establish themselves at the Fort, we expect 2017 will be a banner year.”