Fort Monmouth Sale Agency Considering Buying Remaining Installations from Army

Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), the agency overseeing the parsing and sale of Fort Monmouth is considering buying the remaining parcels of the decommissioned military installation to streamline the real estate deals, NJ.com is reporting.

Representatives from the agency are expected to meet later this month with officials from Monmouth County and the county improvement authority to discuss the possibility of the purchase, said Freeholder Director Lillian Burry, a member of the authority.

FMERA is proposing buying from the Department of Defense the remaining 850 acres not sold or not under contract at the 1,128-acre former military base, which spans Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport.

Burry said the proposal includes financing the sale through the Monmouth County Improvement Authority but “declined to disclose the possible purchase price”.

“It would be a great occurrence because it would allow the FMERA board to move with more liberty and move things along better,” said Burry.

Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo, also a member of the authority, said the state Economic Development Authority would technically own the property and FMERA would become the real estate agent responsible for arranging the sale of the parcels if the proposals were to move forward.

Under the current arrangement, the federal government owns the property, and FMERA negotiates the sales on its behalf.

If the federal government were bought out, sales could be negotiated more quickly and the authority would get to keep the proceeds of the sales, the FMERA members stated.

“It would eliminate the bureaucracy of the federal government in dealing with the transfer of property rights,” Tarantolo said.

Read more here:

http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2014/08/fort_monmouth_redevelopment_agency_considering_buying_installation_from_army.html