Netflix at Fort Monmouth: Here's why you have to wait — again — to learn if it's coming
OCEANPORT - It could be summer before the public finds out if Fort Monmouth's Mega Parcel has attracted a buyer — and if Netflix will bring moviemaking to the Jersey Shore.
No action was taken in regards to a new Mega Parcel public bid at the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority's meeting on Wednesday.
FMERA, the state agency redeveloping the former Fort Monmouth, tabled the previous public bids for the parcel on Jan. 19, in order to include the fort's bowling alley after a developer walked away from a plan to restore the lanes.
Gov. Phil Murphy then had had 10 days to approve the decision, which he did on Jan. 29.
The original public bid process began on Oct. 15. About two weeks later, Netflix, the subscription streaming service and production company, answered rumors that had been circulating since the summer by announcing that it was planning to bid on the site for a studio. However, FMERA had received no bids on the Mega Parcel.
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In her real estate report on Wednesday, Sarah Giberson, FMERA's marketing and development manager, said a new public bid could be ready in the next few weeks.
If that's the case, it wouldn't be known until June who bid on the Mega Parcel, as FMERA's public bids, what it calls a request for offers to purchase or RFTOP, are typically open for 90 days.
With the inclusion of the 3-acre bowling alley property, the Mega Parcel is now a slightly bigger 293-acre site.
FMERA created the Mega Parcel last summer out of several development districts in Eatontown and Oceanport after Parcel B, an 89-acre site at the fort's Route 35 entrance, failed to sell again. Parcel B was tucked into the Mega Parcel.
It's the largest parcel FMERA has attempted to market at the former U.S. Army base.
The property was assessed at $54 million before the addition of the bowling alley. A new assessment value has not been made public yet. The total investment, however, will most likely will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, considering that previous developers who bid for the smaller 89-acre Parcel B proposed investing well over $100 million.
The site has many defunct buildings that will have to be torn down by whoever purchases the Mega Parcel.
Gov. Murphy made headlines in April when he sent a letter to major production companies, including Netflix, Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros., asking them to consider leaving Georgia in the aftermath of that state’s new voter law and film in New Jersey instead. Rumors of Netflix's interest in the former fort soon followed.
When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Netflix at Fort Monmouth: You must wait longer to learn if it's coming
