FORT MONMOUTH — The board overseeing the redevelopment of 1,100 acres at Fort Monmouth had a flurry of activity last week.
During the June 17 meeting of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), the board approved the sale of two properties while putting several others out for bid.
The first action item during the meeting was the sale agreement with RPM Development, Montclair, for the officers’ housing parcel in the Oceanport section of the fort for $8.2 million.
In 2014, the board entered into negotiations with RPM for the 117 historic residences on the officers’ housing site, 48 of which will be designated as affordable housing.
The units, which are located on two parcels of 27.5 acres and 9 acres, include a combination of single, duplex and fourplex configurations.
Under the agreement, RPM must also contribute $1 million toward on- and off-site infrastructure.
During the meeting, the board also approved the sale of the fitness center — also in the Oceanport section — to FM Partners for $3.45 million. The fitness center is located on a 7.75-acre site that includes three buildings with a basketball court, racquetball court, free weights and cardio rooms.
According to the sale agreement, FM may pursue the development of a new field house on the property and will be required to create a minimum of 50 new full-time jobs at the property within three years of obtaining a certificate of occupancy.
With sales agreements in place for two new projects, the board also made four other properties available for purchase.
The four latest properties include the Barker Circle Complex, the Lodging Area, Allison Hall and the Commissary building.
The Barker Circle Complex is a grouping of five barrack buildings in the fort’s historic district in Oceanport.
According to the reuse plan, three of the five buildings will be renovated and converted into 75 units of housing. In the redevelopment plan, the remaining two buildings were to be adapted as municipal offices.
However, Oceanport has indicated the borough no longer wants the buildings, and they will most likely be used for residential or commercial purposes.
The agreement will require the board to pass an amendment to the Fort Monmouth Reuse and Redevelopment Plan to allow FM Partners to put a sign on the water tower and because the property boundaries differ from those depicted in the reuse plan.
Allison Hall is a 36,665-square-foot building slated for demolition, and the site is to be developed as a boutique hotel.
The Lodging Area consists of eight buildings formerly serving as a residential area, but the board has received notice of interest in the renovation of the buildings for health, wellness, conference or nonprofit uses.
The Lodging Area also abuts the officers housing and Allison Hall parcels.
The commissary contains 13 aisles of goods available to active and retired military personnel and their families, including groceries, fresh produce and home care products. Everything is sold at cost, saving authorized patrons an average of 30 percent or more.
However, during the meeting, FMERA Executive Director Bruce Steadman said because of the relatively small size of the building compared to other major grocery chains, it is unlikely the building’s use will remain the same.
In one final action at the meeting, the board extended the use and occupancy memorandum of understanding for the Megill Housing Parcel in Eatontown to continue to be used as a possible destination for travelers asymptomatic of Ebola until Sept. 15.
Earlier this year, it was announced by the N.J. Department of Human Services (DHS) that Fort Monmouth would be a potential site for travelers arriving from three West African nations to America who are asymptomatic of Ebola and subject to a 21-day quarantine.
Once patients start to exhibit symptoms, they would be transferred to one of three designated hospitals equipped to handle Ebola patients.
Steadman said there has not been a single traveler quarantined at Fort Monmouth thus far.
Eatontown resident Bob English was critical of the DHS and said FMERA was not responsible for the choice of the housing for asymptomatic Ebola patients.
“Nobody, at least in Eatontown, was particularly happy about the way DHS went about it,” he said. “From the perception of the public, it was pretty much more or less forced on FMERA.
“I think it is hard to like the idea of having Ebola quarantine housing on a property that you are trying to redevelop.”