By PETE WALTON
Two pieces of the former Fort Monmouth property in Tinton Falls are being sold to a developer who will construct residential units and retail space. A third parcel being sold includes a building which will be leased to one of the state’s fastest growing companies.
The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority has authorized the sale of 52 acres to US Home Corp., a subsidiary of Lennar Corp., a national home builder and real estate developer. A 12-acre plot, which includes a two-story, 86,400-square-foot former administration building, is being sold to RADAR Properties LLC, which will lease 30,000 square feet of the building to its affiliate, Aaski Technology Inc.
According to the authority, US Home will build 288 residential units and up to 58,000 square feet of retail and other non-residential space. The housing portion includes townhomes and single-family detached residences. The retail component will be located on Tinton Avenue and along Municipal Drive, east of the borough’s administrative complex.
“This is good for our town and we’re glad to have it,” said Borough Council President Gary A. Baldwin.
He noted that the sale of the former federal property to private entities creates new tax ratables for the borough, a positive development for existing taxpayers.
Bruce Steadman, executive director of the revitalization authority, said the sale provides “an opportunity for significant redevelopment in Tinton Falls.”
“Attracting Lennar Corp. to build residential housing and a town center on Fort Monmouth is a win for Tinton Falls and for the region,” he added.
The building being sold to RADAR is in the fort’s Charles Wood Area, near the new world headquarters of CommVault, a former Bell Labs unit which is now a world leader in data and information management. Aaski, a defense contractor and communications engineering firm, currently leases space in Eatontown and an office condominium in Ocean Township, as well as a facility in Aberdeen, Maryland, where many of Fort Monmouth’s functions moved before the closing of the local base.
“Locating on Fort Monmouth will enable Aaski to consolidate its two Monmouth County offices in New Jersey, rather than in Maryland, thereby retaining 105 jobs in the Garden State, creating an additional 25 jobs at Fort Monmouth by 2018, and affording the company ample room for future growth,” according to the revitalization authority.
“The company’s decision to keep its roots in Monmouth County is a testament to Fort Monmouth’s enormous potential,” said James V. Gorman, chairman of the authority.
The residential and retail plans, which are expected to be reviewed by the borough Planning Board in the next several months, “emphasize connectivity to existing roads while encouraging pedestrian activity to link the neighborhoods,” according to a news release by the authority. One of the parcels “features a community green to support civic activity, and both parcels will include tree-lined streets and sidewalks to create a vibrant ‘town center’ environment,” the authority said.
