Gathering Proposals For Future Fort Monmouth Town Centers

The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) is receiving proposals for parcels of Fort Monmouth that will become the town centers.

FMERA issued requests for offers to purchase (RFOTP) for three Fort Monmouth parcels last month; two of which will are scheduled to become town centers in Eatontown and Tinton Falls.

Eatontown's Parcel B is a 55-acre tract located along the Fort’s Route 35 frontage in the Main Post’s Eatontown Reuse area. The property currently includes six 80,000-square-foot World War II-era buildings, which were last used as administrative facilities and as the home of West Point Prep.

Those buildings will likely be demolished to make room for the Eatontown town center.

The Fort Monmouth Reuse and Redevelopment Plan calls for Parcel B to be developed with approximately 150,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, entertainment and other uses in a main street format, along with 302 mixed-income apartments. The plan envisions the housing taking several forms, including above-retail small apartments and three-story apartment buildings.

Eatontown officials have requested any housing units to be owner-occupied and not rentals, because of the high number of rental properties that already exist in the borough.

Parcel C in Tinton Falls is planned as a mixed-use town center and is located to the east of Tinton Falls Borough Hall.

The 39-acre lot can accommodate up to 239 newly-constructed residential units. These units will likely include 82 mixed-use apartments, 33 townhomes, 90 mixed-income apartments, and 34 small-lot detached homes. Up to 107,000 square feet of retail and other commercial development is also expected for the area.

Parcel C1 is a 12-acre tract also located in Tinton Falls and can accommodate up to 49 newly constructed residential units. These unites will likely include 36 townhomes, five small-lot detached homes and eight large-lot detached homes.

FMERA Executive Director Bruce Steadman said the RFOTPs for Parcels B, C and C1 are "timed to take advantage of the improving real estate market in central New Jersey," according to FMERA's latest newsletter.

“Monmouth County’s retail and residential sectors are on the rebound, and the condominium market is even starting to pick up,” Steadman said. “Based on the high level of interest these parcels have generated from real estate developers, we’re confident that we’ll receive a number of quality proposals and that we’ll be in position to make recommendations to the FMERA Board by late summer."

Steadman said Parcels B and C are important to the future of Fort Monmouth because they will "help define the character of Tinton Falls and Eatontown for    decades to come."

Developers must submit proposals for the three parcels by June 10. The FMERA board is expected to select developers for the properties later this summer.