New Jersey buys former farm for $15 M, stopping warehouse plan beside historic battlefield
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection purchased a 22-acre former strawberry farm for $15 million, adding it to Monmouth Battlefield State Park and cancelling a previously approved 192,560-sq-ft industrial project.
In July 2024 the Monmouth County Development Review Committee approved a roughly 192,560-square-foot industrial flex project on a 22-acre site bordering Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Manalapan, New Jersey. The land, once a strawberry farm along Route 33, faced opposition from historians and residents concerned about visual intrusion and traffic. Advocacy groups pressed state officials to act, especially ahead of the Revolution’s 250th anniversary.
In early August 2026 the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced a $15 million purchase of the parcel, funded through the Green Acres program and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Acting DEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak described the deal as a tribute to the anniversary and a protection of the battlefield’s setting. The addition brings the park’s total area to roughly 2,764 acres, preserving open fields and trails for recreation, education and research while permanently blocking the warehouse development.
Why it matters
The purchase safeguards a historic battlefield’s landscape and stops a large industrial development near a national heritage site.
In this story
