By Real Estate NJ
Netflix has declared its intention to bid on a nearly 300-acre parcel at Fort Monmouth, where it reportedly wants to build a sprawling production studio after outreach by Gov. Phil Murphy.
According to The New York Times, the streaming giant said Tuesday that it would make an offer on the 289-acre tract in Eatontown and Oceanport, which state officials recently put up for sale. The company told the publication that it would create a “state-of-the-art production facility” at the shuttered U.S. Army base with soundstages, postproduction buildings and backlot filming areas, confirming speculation that arose this past summer.
“Governor Murphy and the state’s legislative leaders have created a business environment that’s welcomed film and television production back to the state, and we’re excited to submit our bid,” Netflix said in its statement to the Times.
The story, which published early Tuesday evening, noted that Murphy and his team have been courting Netflix since at least 2019, highlighting incentives for the film and television industry that New Jersey had reinstated in 2018 and subsequently expanded. The administration seemingly saw an opening this past spring after Georgia passed a controversial law restricting voter access, which raised the prospect of major companies and studios pulling their operations from the state.
As the Times reported, Murphy dangled tax credits on up to 30 percent of eligible production costs, on par with Georgia, and a subsidy for brick-and-mortar studio development of up to 40 percent.
“I am incredibly excited to hear about Netflix’s proposed investment,” Murphy told the Times in a statement on Tuesday. “While there is an objective process that any and all applications will have to go through, this is yet more evidence that the economic plan my administration has laid out is working and bringing high-quality, good-paying jobs to our state.”
The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority announced last week that it was soliciting bids for the so-called Mega Parcel, part of a historic, 1,100-acre outpost that the Pentagon closed in 2011. Responses are due Jan. 12, the agency said, noting that it would only accept offers from parties interested in buying the entire property.
In its solicitation, the state said it would entertain proposals focused on high-wage, high-growth areas such as life sciences, information and high tech, clean energy, food and beverage and film and digital media, reflecting a key piece of Murphy’s economic agenda. FMERA also cited potential uses such as a regional cultural and entertainment center that can include performance centers, theaters, film and television production facilities and museums.
As of earlier this year, FMERA had sold, placed under contract or entered negotiations for some 80 percent of the Fort’s total acreage. The property in recent years has attracted a host of high-profile developers and operators in the residential, office, education and health care sectors, among others.
Developers eyeing large-scale studio projects in New Jersey, spurred by popular film tax credit
