The Catalyst

What Is Being Built at Fort Monmouth, and Why It Matters

Fort Monmouth operated as a U.S. Army installation for nearly a century before closing in 2011. For over a decade, the 292-acre site sat largely idle, a significant piece of land in one of New Jersey's most active coastal counties, waiting for a project that matched its scale.

Netflix found that project. The company acquired the property in December 2025 for approximately $55 million and is committing at least $900 million to build it out. The campus will include 12 soundstages totaling nearly 500,000 square feet, production and post-production facilities, executive offices, a hotel, retail, a cinema, a backlot, and public gathering spaces. When complete, it will be Netflix's second-largest production facility in the country, behind only its campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Construction is running in two phases. The first four soundstages, on the McAfee parcel in Oceanport, are targeted to open in 2027. The remaining eight soundstages in Eatontown are projected to follow by the end of 2028. As of May 2026, the project is on schedule.

The Economic Ripple

How a Production Campus Translates to Housing Demand

Start with the jobs. Netflix projects 1,400 or more permanent positions when the campus reaches full operation, with salary ranges at the management level running from $320,000 to $790,000 annually. These are not entry-level roles. The hiring profile covers executives, production managers, studio operations directors, and post-production specialists. That is a tier of workers who research real estate the same way they research everything else: carefully, in advance, and with a long time horizon.

Construction activity alone is generating 3,500 temporary jobs at the site. That workforce needs housing now, and it is searching well beyond Oceanport and Eatontown.

We are already seeing evidence of that in the data. Reports from Oceanport and Eatontown show median home values up 8 to 12% over the past 12 months. A townhome in Oceanport recently sold $60,000 over asking price with multiple offers, something agents in that market describe as rare just a year ago. Rental demand for furnished and short-term properties near Fort Monmouth is climbing.

Netflix's New Mexico experience is worth noting. Following the opening of its Albuquerque campus, home prices in surrounding areas rose substantially over five years, outpacing comparable regional markets. Monmouth County comes into this with a stronger pre-existing real estate market, established coastal amenities, and a short drive to New York City. Those factors tend to accelerate demand, not soften it.

Project Timeline

Netflix Fort Monmouth: 2025 to 2028 Milestone Projections

The Shore Connection

What This Means for Bay Head, Mantoloking, and Ocean County

Fort Monmouth sits approximately 18 to 22 miles north of Bay Head along the Garden State Parkway. That is a commute the production and executive workforce Netflix is hiring for will readily make, particularly when the alternative is living somewhere without direct water access and a functioning downtown within walking distance.

Bay Head and Mantoloking already draw buyers relocating from New York and the broader metropolitan region for exactly that combination. Netflix's arrival adds a local employment anchor that puts Monmouth and Ocean County real estate in front of a new pool of buyers, people who are here for work and want to live here as well.

The secondary commercial activity that follows a campus of this size, production vendors, creative and administrative firms, hospitality businesses, will put additional pressure on inventory in Red Bank, Long Branch, and neighboring communities. That pressure, in turn, supports the pricing strength that has kept the Bay Head and Mantoloking market competitive even as the broader market has grown more selective at the very top of the price range.