New Jersey just moved one step closer to becoming a major East Coast production hub thanks to the massive Netflix Studios opening at the former Fort Monmouth complex.
On Monday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and New Jersey officials celebrated the closing of the purchase of the Mega Parcel at Fort Monmouth that will soon become Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth.
“We first announced our plans to transform Fort Monmouth back in 2022,” Sarandos said during the ceremony at The Park Loft in Oceanport. “It is incredible to think about how what started as an idea is on its way to becoming a reality – a state-of-the-art production facility that will bring new jobs and economic opportunities to New Jersey. This project is also a great example of what real cooperation looks like. Over the last few years, we’ve worked with everyone from the Trump Administration to the US Army Corps of Engineers to the fire departments in Eatontown and Oceanport.”
Fort Monmouth closed in September 2011 after the Pentagon and the office of Base Realignment and Closure announced the decision to close the fort in 2005. It has been mostly dormant since. Netflix plans to invest $1 billion to transform the 292-acre former US Army installation into a premier East Coast production hub for TV and film. The development will feature 12 cutting-edge soundstages totaling nearly 500,000 square feet, along with additional areas dedicated to supporting film uses and a range of community amenities.
Over the past year, Netflix has filmed nearly 20 titles in the state, including Happy Gilmore 2, The Rip, A House of Dynamite, The Beast in Me, Office Romance, and The Whisper Man. Here Comes the Flood, starring Denzel Washington, Robert Pattinson and Daisy Edgar-Jones, and another movie are currently filming in New Jersey.
“New Jersey’s state-of-the-art Fort Monmouth Studio is an amazing example of what can happen when industry, labor, state, and local government work together to invest in our communities. As your next governor, I will continue to support that progress. My administration will be there every step of the way to ensure that this project – which is already bringing economic investments and good-paying jobs to our state – continues to boost New Jersey’s economy for years to come,” said Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill.
The project will also create thousands of jobs in the area. The current two films have already employed 500 people in front of and behind the cameras, Sarandos said. “The production renaissance in New Jersey is good for American jobs and American competitiveness,” he said.
The company is also proving to be a good neighbor. There were two networking events held in Spring 2025, sponsoring the Count Basie Breakthrough Filmmaker Festival in Red Bank in 2025, and hosting a Veterans Day cookout alongside Soldier On and JBJ Soul Kitchen in both 2023 and 2024.
Netflix broke ground at Fort Monmouth in May 2025, with demolition expected to take 13 months. The projected open date will be in 2028, assuming all of the required approvals are in place and construction goes as planned.
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