One of the world's biggest names in streaming is moving ahead on plans to buy and redevelop part of a former U.S. military base in northern New Jersey into a major production facility.
The state agency that governs development at the site, the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority, gave Netflix the green light on Dec. 21 to buy the 292-acre Fort Monmouth parcel spanning Eatontown and Oceanport for $55.04 million in Monmouth County.
Netflix, based in Los Gatos, California, expects to invest $850 million into a state-of-the-art production facility with 12 soundstages, according to public records and a Netflix spokesperson. The soundstages will range from 15,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet. In addition, the redevelopment may feature a mill space for set building, support buildings, offices, a cafeteria, a helipad, a water tank for production, a hotel, a theater and a base camp with trailer parking and space for large exterior sets.
The production facility's construction may create 3,500 jobs, and the facility has the potential for another 1,400 to 2,200 jobs annually, according to a Netflix spokesperson. The facility is projected to generate between $7.4 billion to $8.9 billion in economic output over the next two decades.
"This transformative investment will serve as a cornerstone in our efforts to create a thriving industry from whole cloth,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement. "As a result of nearly a billion dollars in film production spending, New Jersey will further solidify its status as an emerging national leader in the television and film industries. Additionally, Netflix’s substantial direct investment will stimulate job creation and spark an entirely new ecosystem of housing, hotels, and ancillary businesses and services, bringing with it countless additional jobs and boosting the regional economy."
The property currently features residential, administrative, research and development buildings, workshops, warehouses and more, according to public records.
Netflix has been a major driver for demand for production-related facilities both in the U.S. and abroad. Streaming companies have set records in recent years in terms of TV and movie production. Netflix also vowed to invest $1 billion in expanding its ABQ Studios in New Mexico in 2020 in another high-profile development project. Construction was underway on the expansion in October, according to social media posts.
New Jersey has been attempting to expand its tax-credit program to entice more film and TV production in the Garden State. Also this month, entertainment company Lionsgate was named a "studio partner" by the state of New Jersey, which will allow it to tap into more tax credits as it becomes an anchor tenant at a $125 million studio complex in Newark, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Netflix confirmed it was a bidder for the 300-acre property in October 2021 before at least three other potential buyers surfaced. Netflix then emerged this past October as the top choice to buy the parcel.