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The entertainment company plans on committing $848 million in capital investments to develop the facility on the more than than 292-acre site on the former Fort Monmouth campus in Monmouth County.
The "economic engine" is estimated to create more than 1,500 permanent production jobs and more than 3,500 construction-related jobs, Netflix and Gov. Phil Murphy said.
Located adjacent to Route 35 in Eatontown and Oceanport, the facility will be split into 12 state-of-the-art soundstages totaling nearly 500,000 square feet of new development, with the remainder of the property slated for redevelopment with supporting film uses and several community amenities.
The announcement follows the authorization by the Board of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) of a Purchase and Sale & Redevelopment Agreement with Netflix for the property. The Board approved the decision at FMERA’s December 21st board meeting.
Netflix was one of four applicants that submitted proposals in response to a Request for Offers to Purchase (RFOTP) issued by FMERA on March 8, 2022 with a deadline of June 6, 2022. Netflix received the top evaluation score. The deal now enters a due diligence period and local approvals process before being finalized.
Netflix will pay $55 million for the parcel, including a utility contribution of $5 million and the FMERA office relocation fee of $3 million, per the terms of the RFOTP.
“This transformative investment will serve as a cornerstone in our efforts to create a thriving industry from whole cloth,” Murphy said. “As a result of nearly a billion dollars in film production spending, New Jersey will further solidify its status as an emerging national leader in the television and film industries.
"Additionally, Netflix’s substantial direct investment will stimulate job creation and spark an entirely new ecosystem of housing, hotels, and ancillary businesses and services, bringing with it countless additional jobs and boosting the regional economy.”
Netflix’s plans for a sustainable, integrated film studio campus will be completed in two phases over the course of several years. The first phase of the project will include the construction of 12 soundstages that will range in size from 15,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet each with a minimum total buildout of 180,000 square feet and a maximum buildout of 480,000 square feet.
Additional and ancillary improvements may include office space, production services buildings, mill space, and studio backlots, among other uses customary to the film industry, with the potential for consumer-facing components, such as retail and consumer experiences.
The parcel that will be developed by Netflix contains former residential, administrative, and R&D buildings, warehouses, workshops and additional general-purpose facilities.
“The closing of Fort Monmouth was a devastating economic blow to our region, one from which we continue to strive to overcome,” said Senator Vin Gopal. “The Netflix plan to develop a production facility on the fort’s campus in Monmouth County, creating both permanent production jobs as well as construction jobs, will be a welcome boon to our economy."
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