With more of Fort Monmouth selling, is Netflix still interested in the 'Mega Parcel?'
OCEANPORT - Fort Monmouth just completed the sale of historic Allison Hall, which will be a key piece in the proposed $25 million Riverwalk Center, a new business park on Parker Creek.
Now it awaits the deadline for offers on the 292-acre Mega Parcel, the giant piece of land that could be the centerpiece of efforts to revitalize the former Army base. The bids will be revealed on June 6.
All eyes are on Netflix. The streaming giant confirmed last October that it wanted the property for a production studio following a summer of rumors.
Of course, that was before the company reported it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter. That was the first time the company recorded a loss in a decade and that might not be the end of it. The company expects to lose even more subscribers in the second quarter. The news resulted in a 35% drop in the value of its stock that day alone.
Six months ago Netflix stock traded at $665.64. On Tuesday it closed at $180.34, a nearly 73% drop over that time.
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However, a source close to the matter told the Asbury Park Press that Netflix is still interested in the Mega Parcel.
While its subscription growth is bogged down by problems such as password sharing and by its decision to pull out of Russia following that nation's invasion of Ukraine, the company still reported a 10% increase in earnings in the first quarter over last year as it raked in $1.6 billion in profit.
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On top of that, Netflix drew more TV viewing time than any other outlet during the 2021-22 TV season, according to Nielsen data.
Whoever steps up to buy the Mega Parcel will need a lot of investment dollars. The property, which consists of several redevelopment districts in Eatontown and Oceanport, is appraised at $55.4 million.
The total investment though will likely be in the hundreds of millions, considering that previous developers who bid for the smaller 89-acre Parcel B proposed investing well over $100 million before backing out.
Parcel B, which failed to sell multiple times, was placed into the Mega Parcel.
The bids will be revealed at 12:30 p.m. June 6 at the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority's office at 502 Brewer Ave. FMERA, the state agency redeveloping the former Army base, will only announce who bid on the property. It will be another few months before it reveals whose offer it chooses, assuming more than one bid was made.
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Riverwalk Center
Meanwhile, Fort Monmouth Business Center LLC, or FMBC, purchased the historic Allison Hall and is proposing to invest $25 million to build the Riverwalk Center.
One of the two principals of FMBC is Michael Abboud, who bought and renovated historic Russel Hall in 2017, for his private cloud service provider company TetherView. His business partner in the Riverwalk venture is Chris Ilvento.
Allison Hall, which was built in 1928 and is on the National Register of Historic places, sits on 12 acres bordering Parker Creek. There are five other buildings on the site.
New development: Fort Monmouth real estate boom at Parker Creek
FMBC plans to renovate Allison Hall for office, retail and commercial uses. With another building it plans to add a waterfront restaurant with a second floor office or retail space. With the other buildings it plans to construct business lofts and construct a new retail center fronting on Oceanport Avenue.
It has the option of demolishing another building for the construction of a boutique hotel.
The Riverwalk will be tied into adjacent properties on Parker Creek via a promenade on Parker Creek, with the hopes of creating a vibrant commercial and residential district on this portion of the fort.
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The other properties are East Gate townhomes, the renovated former officer homes, and 144 luxury market-rate townhomes and 36 affordable housing units being completed by Somerset Development, owners of Bell Works, and its residential partner, PulteGroup.
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: Fort Monmouth NJ Mega Parcel deadline draws near, will Netflix bid?
