EATONTOWN – Ask just about any small business owner near Fort Monmouth and they’re well aware that Netflix won the bid for the Mega Parcel at the old Fort Monmouth. What exactly that is going to mean five to 10 years down the road for the area has them speculating, too.
“This is going to put Eatontown on the map. You can’t underestimate the importance of this to the town, to the small businesses and for jobs,” said Larry Fisher, proprietor of Eagle Specialty Coffee, whose location on Route 35 is about a one-minute drive to the fort’s gates.
The buzz Netflix is creating may finally put an end to some of the longing for the old days when the fort was open and the businesses had plenty of walk-in traffic. Some 5,460 jobs, most of them for civilians, left town when the fort closed in 2011, not to mention the many families who packed up their belongings and moved out.
Sal Martorana, who opened his Rise N Shine Diner in 1987 on Main Street within sight of the fort’s gates, saw it all kind of fall apart.
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“The fort was going good back then and you had so many regulars. They’d come in and sit in their certain spot and order their regular breakfast and lunch,” Martorana said. “The barbershop, my goodness, would be filled. The soldiers had to keep their hair short so they would have three barbers going at once. Another thing you’d see, is you’d look into the window of the dry cleaners and the rack would be filled with all the uniforms.”
Now, not so much, Martorana said. When he first heard the news that the fort was going to close, he knew it wasn’t going to be good. Slowly the jobs and people began leaving. Then a trickle became a torrent. He said Eatontown’s downtown, located at the intersection Broad and Main streets, is the worse he’s ever seen it. Several storefronts sit empty.
Even before the rumors of Netflix making the move to the fort began leaking out, the borough’s governing body and various boards and advisory committees had started making plans to resurrect the downtown. In 2021, it was declared an area in need of redevelopment. Two years before that, the borough drafted a greenway plan to connect its various parks with pedestrian and bike paths that should ultimately make the downtown more friendly to foot traffic.
“The downtown always needed redevelopment, but bringing Netflix in should motivate us all to do more,” said Mayor Anthony Talerico Jr.
If there’s been any downside to the news, it’s the fact that it could take Netflix years to build their 12 sound studios. Ten years to be exact, if the streaming giant takes all the available time extensions. There also lies the unpopular possibility Netflix does not end up closing on the 292-acre Mega Parcel.
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However, for the moment it seems like Netflix and the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority have been enjoying the honeymoon period and talks about getting some parts of the studio up and running ahead of time have taken place.
Sarah Giberson, FMERA’s senior marketing and real estate development officer, told the Asbury Park Press that FMERA and Netflix have discussed interim use of the property for productions. None of that though has been finalized and no timelines have been discussed.
Netflix could do a lot to help restore the lost jobs, with 12 sound stages plus a host of auxiliary buildings. It must create 3,528 jobs during construction, then 1,407 permanent jobs associated with phase one and 128 more permanent jobs with phase two.
Another effect is what it may do for the culture or perception of Eatontown, especially if celebrity actors start popping into local shops for a slice of pizza.
“I think it will bring in all kinds of people. Eatontown could become one of the hip towns like Asbury Park, Long Branch or Red Bank. People visiting the Jersey Shore are going to want to come see the Netflix studios like they do in L.A.,” said Justin Myles, owner of Belo Pizzeria on Broad Street.
The presence of film studios may also lead to more students studying theater and drama. Jim Josselyn, owner of School of Music and Drama in Little Silver on the eastern side of the fort, teaches acting classes and suddenly finds himself located within a minute or two of where the Netflix’s studios will be.
“Having something like this in people’s backyards I think will definitely spur some interest in acting. I think it will be a great boom for arts and drama education. I’m excited,” Josselyn said.
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; [email protected].
This content was originally published here.
