Bagels, pumping gas without leaving your vehicle, and movies.
New Jersey may be well known for the first two, although that may soon change for the third.
The New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission recently confirmed to NJ Advance Media that film and television production companies are increasingly looking to film their projects in the Garden State.
In April, Gov. Phil Murphy sent a letter to several major film and entertainment companies like Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros. and offered tax and other incentives to lure them to New Jersey after Georgia enacted a controversial voting law. One of the places these companies could use is Fort Monmouth.
The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority unanimously approved a resolution on July 21 seeking requests for offers to purchase a 289-acre tract spanning across Eatontown and Oceanport that includes an 80-acre parcel that could potentially house a film production company, Oceanport Mayor Jay Coffey, a member of the authority, told NJ Advance Media.
“The devil is in the details … we’ll see if it’s Netflix or if it’s somebody else,” he said.
The 289-acre tract incorporates Oceanport’s Horseneck Development District and its 100,000-square-foot McAfee Center, a former research and development facility built in 1997 on 45 acres. It also includes Fort Monmouth’s historic district. Any development will include the preservation of Fort Monmouth’s parade grounds, World War II Memorial and Cowan Park.
“The intent of issuing the Mega Parcel (Request For Offer To Purchase) is to redevelop the Fort with a forward-looking and transformative project that aims to meet the highest standards of economic and sustainable development,” the resolution states.
While potential developers have already expressed an interest in redeveloping the property for use as housing, Coffey said, “This is a huge change in how the property is going to be developed. It’s gone from a housing base to a mixed-use type of development.”
Details about the request for offer are expected to be made public around September, Coffey said. At that time, developers will have 90 days to submit a request.
Recently, the state’s largest film studio celebrated its opening in Jersey City with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Murphy. The studio intends host up to four major TV and film productions a year, according to the governor’s office.
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