Netflix breaks ground on $900M movie studio at former Army base in NJ
Netflix officially broke ground this week on a sprawling new $900 million production hub in central New Jersey — with more than a third of the funding coming from tax credits provided by the Garden State.
Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth will transform a long-abandoned US Army base into a 500,000-square-foot facility housing soundstage🌳s, a backlot, post-production suites and offices.
The deal to build the new campus in Eatontown — was boosted by $387 million in tax credits,
New Jersey’s film and digital media tax credits offer up to 35% for production expenses and up to 40% for digital post-production — figures that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos cited as critical to the company’s investment.
California’s status as the nation’s film hub as studios have opted to film movies in lower-tax locales such as Georgia and the United Kingdom.
“We’re kicking🌜 California’s ass,” state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) , underscoring New Jersey’s aggressive push to attract film and television production.
O’Scanlon, whose district includes the Netflix site, admitted he🦄 was initially skeptical of the tax credit program. He then delivered a rare political confession: “I was wrong.”
S𒀰arandos, sꦚpeaking from a stage on the rain-soaked site, described the project as both a passion and a business decision.
“I was in love with this id𓃲ea from the very first conversation with 🤪Gov. [Phil] Murphy,” Sarandos said.
Sarandos added that the company expects “that these studios will create thousands of jobs for New Jersey residents, billions of dollars of economic output and many cultural benefits for the region and for the state.”
Though born in the Garden St♈ate, Sarandos emphasized that the decision to build there was based on economics, not 𒈔sentimentality.
According to an April report by ProdPro, New Jersey ranks sixth in the US for film and TV production, with $536 million in spending over the past year, trailing only C🐓alifornia, New York, Illinois, New Mexico and Ge🃏orgia.
Murphy, who was seated in a Netflix-branded director’s chair d🍃uring the ceremony, called the sꦰtate’s film incentive program “the single best in the entire country.”
He noted t♈hat the program has already been extended through June🦩 30, 2039.
“T൩his is not about us,” ꦿMurphy said. “This is about generations to come.”
Netflix already has seven productions filming in New Jersey and is expected to significantly ramp up activity once the Fort 𒁃Monmouth facili🦹ty is complete, projected to be in 2028.
Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas Arnꦐone promised the company a streamlined permitting process.
“We will make thi♏s easy for you,” Arnone said, referencing the permitting gridlock that has🐻 plagued film productions in California.
