By PETE WALTON
Tinton Falls officials expect a $6.5 million private investment in a former Fort Monmouth building to generate 225 permanent high-paying positions and dozens of temporary construction jobs.
The Borough Council designated Radar Properties Urban Renewal LLC as the redeveloper of what is commonly known as Building 2525 on the former fort property.
As an urban renewal entity, Radar Properties filed a tax abatement application with the borough earlier this month. The redeveloper is seeking a 15-year tax exemption, though it will make service charge payments to the borough.
At present, the property generates no revenue for Tinton Falls.
In the first year of the agreement, Radar will pay a service charge of $71,250. That amount gradually increases to $119,295 in the final year of the exempt period.
“The relative stability and predictability of the annual service charges will make the project more attractive to investors and lenders needed to finance the project,” the ordinance proposed by the council said. The agreement also allows Radar “to stabilize its operating budgets and rents while allowing for a high level of maintenance to the building over the life of the project, which will insure the likelihood of success of the project and insure that it will have a positive impact on the surrounding area,” according to the resolution.
Radar closed on the 12.25-acre parcel in February. The property is located near the CommVault headquarters in the fort’s Charles Wood Area off Tinton Avenue. Building 2525 is an 86,400-square-foot, two-story former administration facility. Radar will lease 30,000 square feet within the building to its affiliate, Aaski Technology, a defense contractor and communications engineering firm with offices around the U.S.
Aaski will consolidate its New Jersey operations at Fort Monmouth. The company is currently headquartered in Ocean Township, and leases other space in Eatontown and Aberdeen, Maryland.
