New Jersey board OKs initial stage of $900-million-plus Netflix production facility at ex-Army base

OCEANPORT, N.J. — The initial stage of Netflix's $900 million-plus state-of-the-art production facility at a former Army base at the Jersey Shore has won approval from a local planning board.

The Oceanport borough planning board last week unanimously approved site plans for the first phase of the California-based subscription video streaming company's proposed film and television production studio at the 289-acre former Fort Monmouth site, NJ.com reported.

The first phase is slated to include four soundstages on a 29-acre plot known as the McAfee zone, most of it in Oceanport, with about three acres in neighboring Eatontown. Netflix plans to transform the complex into a campus for actors and production crews.

Oceanport officials raised concerns about the size of signs and billboards, and they also expressed concerns about the accuracy of a study on traffic impacts. Netflix has said it plans to surround the campus with a security-monitored concrete wall for privacy.

Approval will also be needed from Eatontown and state authorities, including the Department of Environmental Protection.

The company is to pay $55 million for the entire site and plans an additional $848 million worth of investments to build a dozen soundstages as well as office space, production services buildings and related studio space. Site plans also include a helipad, theater, hotel and visitor attractions, NJ.com reported.

The state Economic Development Authority announced earlier this year that Netflix will receive millions in tax breaks for productions in exchange for operating the studio for at least 10 years. Company officials said at the hearing that they hoped to start construction by the end of next year.

A Netflix spokesperson said Tuesday that the planning board's approval “demonstrates that the community shares our enthusiasm for building a new studio in New Jersey, the birthplace of the modern film industry.”