Netflix Places Bid To Open Monmouth County Film Studio

OCEANPORT, NJ — Netflix is indeed moving forward with its plans to open a film production studio in Monmouth County.

On Monday, Netflix placed a bid to purchase 298 acres of the old Fort Monmouth property in Oceanport. In the first quarter of 2022, Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers and its stock price plunged, leading some to speculate Netflix would not move forward with its opening of a new film studio in New Jersey.

However, on Monday they placed their bid.

The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) announced the news here. In total, four developers placed bids Monday to buy land at Fort Monmouth.

The four companies that placed bids to buy the land are:

• Extell Acquisitions LLC
• Mega Parcel Development LLC
• Netflix, Inc.
• RDR Partners, LLC (Russo Development, LLC; Dinallo Development, LLC; River Development Equities, LLC.)

FMERA must now choose one of the four.

"Please be advised that this process may take several months," said the authority.

Neither Netflix nor FMERA would say how much Netflix offered to buy the land. Bidding offer documents are not public until the contract is executed and signed by both parties.

The news first broke last summer that Netflix wanted to turn a 298-acre space on Fort Monmouth into a massive new TV/movie production studio. Then in October, Netflix publicly confirmed they were indeed interested. This would be Netflix's first film studio in New Jersey, but they did just open a studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn:

“America's first movie studio was in New Jersey, and today it's home to many talented people working in entertainment," said Netflix in a statement last fall. "Governor Murphy and the state’s legislative leaders have created a business environment that's welcomed film and television production back to the state, and we’re excited to submit our bid to transform Fort Monmouth into a state-of-the-art production facility.”

In April 2021, Gov. Murphy sent a letter to the production heads of Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros., among other film studios, trying to lure them with tax breaks to film movies in the Garden State.

In that letter, Murphy criticized Georgia's voter ID laws as one reason why they should leave Georgia and move their business to the Garden State.

“I’ve watched the recent decisions coming from the Georgia State House with disappointment. Restricting the right to vote is more than just wrong, it’s un-American,” Murphy wrote in his letter to Netflix, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. “These voting restrictions have thrust Georgia into the national spotlight, with the vast majority seeing the state’s decision as an attack on people of color by a Governor and Legislature willing to do anything to stay in power.”

Murphy offered the film studios tax credits equal to what the state of Georgia currently offers: Tax credits up to 30 percent of production costs and a 40-percent tax credit for any studio that opens brick-and-mortar offices in New Jersey, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Murphy also tried to woo Disney and Warner Brothers to open film production studios in New Jersey.

Fort Monmouth is a 1,127-acre former U.S. Army base that straddles the areas of Tinton Falls, Oceanport and Eatontown. It was closed down by the Army in 2011.

Netflix moving in is part of the larger Fort Monmouth building boom currently underway, as developers seek to turn the former officers' homes into luxury townhouses, with prices starting in the upper $700Ks. A waterfront walkway is being built and a high-end gym has been open for several years now (The Fort Athletic Club). There were also plans to build a microbrewery and a bowling center at Fort Monmouth, but those appear to have been shelved.

Read: Ft. Monmouth Building Boom: Townhomes, Waterfront Walkway Coming (March 2021)