Lennar broke ground this week on the first residential phase of the Fort Monmouth redevelopment, a 1,226-acre former Army installation spanning Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls in Monmouth County, New Jersey, according to Connect CRE.
The base closed under the 2005 federal Base Realignment and Closure round, and the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority — a state-created body known as FMERA — has spent the years since assembling the land into a mixed-use buildout of housing, retail and office space. Lennar's groundbreaking marks the first vertical construction from a private homebuilder on the site under that long-running plan, Connect CRE reported.
A project this size moves in phases over years, not months, and FMERA has parceled out land to multiple developers rather than a single master builder — so Lennar's groundbreaking is one piece of a site that will keep generating separate bid packages, utility contracts and infrastructure work as later phases get released. Connect CRE's report did not give a unit count, square footage or construction value for Lennar's phase, and did not name a general contractor or trade subcontractors.
For New York and New Jersey trade contractors, a 1,226-acre redevelopment with a state authority as master landowner means years of recurring site work, utilities, roads and vertical construction let out in stages rather than one bid. The pattern is familiar from other BRAC-era base conversions: early phases draw national homebuilders who self-perform or run their own trade networks, but roads, utilities, parks and later commercial parcels typically go back out to competitive bid through the authority or through subsequent developers.
What to do next
Monmouth County contractors and suppliers should get on FMERA's distribution list for future parcel releases and infrastructure lettings — the authority has historically bid roads, utilities and site infrastructure separately from vertical construction. Watch for Lennar's own subcontractor outreach as this phase moves past groundbreaking; homebuilders on master-planned sites this size typically bring on local site and utility subs within the first few months. Firms chasing later phases should track FMERA's board meeting agendas, where future parcel awards are disclosed before they reach a public RFP.