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It was a historic day in Monmouth County – as officials broke ground on a major new project: Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth.

The facility at the site of the shuttered Army base will serve as the East Coast production hub for Netflix.

“Today, the film and television industry in New Jersey is stronger than it’s ever been,” said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix. “So, we’re taking another huge step here. We’re going to officially begin demolition to pave the way for Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth. Netflix is making a significant infrastructure investment in Fort Monmouth – to transform this into a state-of-the-art production facility.”

The more than $900 million project will span over 290 acres in Oceanport and Eatontown, including soundstages, a backlot, offices and much more.

“We estimate 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,” said Sarandos.

Gov. Phil Murphy noted that before the event started, he greeted Sarandos, who originally hails from Monmouth County, with a simple message: welcome home.

“Ted, to you and your colleagues at Netflix – thank you, as always, for choosing New Jersey,” said Murphy. “You are truly the ideal partners to help breathe new life into Fort Monmouth. And we could not be more thrilled to welcome you all to New Jersey.”

Came in like a wrecking ball

The event featured a number of state, county and local officials – as well as Netflix executives, business leaders, key stakeholders and others for a ceremonial groundbreaking with gold shovels. And to keep in the Hollywood theme, a wrecking ball scene marked the demolition of a former building – as Netflix gets ready to write the next chapter at Fort Monmouth.

Michele Siekerka, president and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), told NJBIZ, “This is incredible – and this is a great day. I recall when the announcement was first made, and we were all there for that. We were trying to envision when could we expect today to come? And we’re excited to be here today to celebrate with Netflix – and the economic opportunity it’s going to bring for our citizens and our state.”

Tom Bracken, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, said that the project will not only benefit the state economically, but also psychologically. And he’s glad to see the project take the next step forward.

“It helps our image. The fact that Netflix chose New Jersey to do this – that’s a huge plus,” Bracken told NJBIZ. “You can’t underestimate that. We need a lot more of that positive publicity to build our image. So, economically, image-wise – both great.”

Please stay tuned to NJBIZ for further coverage from the milestone day in Monmouth County.