Oceanport Mayor Pushes 30-Year PILOT Deal With Netflix: Reports

OCEANPORT, NJ — On Nov. 6, the Oceanport Borough Council unanimously voted to introduce a 30-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) deal with Netflix.

Netflix will pay the town of Oceanport nearly $65 million over the next 30 years under the PILOT, NJ.com, the Asbury Park Press and the Two River Times all reported.

Oceanport Mayor Tom Tvrdik is pushing the deal, saying it gives the town of Oceanport a steady stream of tax revenue for the next three decades. The town will decide what it does with the PILOT money; it could be invested into local schools, roads, playgrounds, etc.

Even if Netflix sells the studio campus and leaves Monmouth County, the town is still guaranteed fixed yearly payments from Netflix for the next 30 years, NJ.com reported.

The Oceanport town council will take a final vote on the proposed PILOT at its Dec. 4 meeting, and Netflix is expected to close on the Fort Monmouth property the next day, the Two River Times reported. Netflix will pay a total of $55 million to purchase 289 acres of the former Fort Monmouth U.S. Army base.

Netflix plans to build a total of 12 film studios (Netflix calls them soundstages) at the base. Netflix plans to develop the Oceanport section first; construction on the first four studios is expected to start in early 2026.

Netflix says the first four studios will open in 2027.

Each studio will be 22,000 square feet and about 70 feet tall. Filming will be done inside the studios, which are designed to be soundproof, but there could also be overnight and outdoor filming.

On Oct. 28 the town of Oceanport published these plans from Netflix that show how the film studios will be laid out in their section of the base.

And in September, Netflix unveiled never-before-seen renderings of how their film studio will look at Fort Monmouth: See The Latest Renderings Of Netflix's Fort Monmouth Film Studios (Sept. 15)