Interest in Howard Commons and a future town center

By Coleen Burnett
At the monthly Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority meeting on July 15, the Board announced two properties located in Eatontown have received multiple bids for purchase. Then, two days later on July 17, a Request For Offer To Purchase (RFOTP) was issued for an Oceanport property.
The two Eatontown properties are Howard Commons and the area known as Parcel B. The Oceanport acreage up for bid is a spot fondly remembered by many — the Fort Commissary.

Howard Commons received three proposals and Parcel B received five bids by the July 10 deadline, which the Board is now reviewing.

Both Eatontown properties have stumbled through the FMERA process.

Howard Commons is a 64-acre tract on Pinebrook Road in the Fort’s Charles Wood Area of the borough. There are 486 town homes currently on the property, along with a 3,853 square foot all-purpose building. All of the structures are slated to come down and be replaced by 275 dwelling units and 15,000 square feet of ancillary retail/commercial space. In accordance with the Fort Reuse Plan, 20 per cent of the new units will be affordable housing qualified.

HovWest Land Acquisition LLC won a contract to purchase Howard Commons in January of 2014, but later pulled out, citing concerns with the area’s water table.

Parcel B is a 55-acre tract that fronts Route 35 and is envisioned as Eatontown’s future town center. It could include as much as 250,000 square feet of retail development and 302 housing units, with the preference for owner-occupied structures.
An original RFOTP was issued in March 2013, but was later withdrawn without awarding a contract. In January of this year, the Board voted to add 12 acres to the Parcel and issue a new RFOTP, which would also include Mallette Hall as an optional component.

Built in 1998, the Commissary is a six-acre site at Razor Avenue and Murphy Drive in Oceanport containing a building with 53,700 square feet of space and parking for approximately 215 cars.

The Fort’s Reuse Plan originally envisioned the tract as a grocery store, but its small size and the fact that it does not have frontage near a major thoroughfare has handicapped the idea. When no interest was received regarding the property, the FMERA Board created the option to include what it calls “non-retail commercial uses, including but not limited to office, research and development and technology-related uses.” Bids are due August 17.