Eatontown mulls demolition of vacant housing units at fort

By GREG KENNELTY

Staff Writer

EATONTOWN Borough officials are investigating the cost of demolishing the vacant and deteriorating former U.S. Army housing units at Fort Monmouth.

Mayor Gerald Tarantolo suggested at the Sept. 10 Borough Council meeting that the borough would seek cost estimates for demolition of the units in the area known as Howard Commons, which he said are blighted and represent a potential hazard.

Howard Commons is a 63-acre tract on Pinebrook Road that is the site of 483 housing units that were occupied by Army personnel prior to the fort closing in 2011.

The discussion the council began at the Sept. 10 meeting included whether the borough has the authority to demolish the structures, which are owned by the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), and how the borough would be reimbursed if the council decides to go forward with the project.

The property is owned by FMERA, and they have full authority to dispose of the property, Tarantolo said.

When they sell properties, they get the check. Based on an agreement with the Army, the government gets 63 percent of the [funds] and the rest goes to FMERA.

That is why we want to quantify what demolition would cost. They will take off the top the cost we incur as part of the process at the closing of the property.

Borough Engineer David Marks suggested the demolition be done in two phases, with the first being to secure an estimate of the cost of demolition, taking into account all pertinent factors.

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Eatontown mulls demolition of vacant housing units at fort