In this episode, Christian has a conversation with Kara Kopach, Executive Director of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA). Kara has been leading the transformation of the former Fort Monmouth military base into a thriving mixed-use community, including residential, retail, a Robert Wood Johnson healthcare campus, and the 300-acre Netflix Fort Monmouth Movie Studio. Christian and Kara unpack the complexities of large-scale redevelopment and share how community engagement and intentional planning can create spaces that truly connect with people.https://www.fortmonmouthnj.com/<a href="https://manciniduffy.com/">https://manciniduffy.com/</a>(0:44) Meet Kara Kopach and Fort Monmouth’s redevelopment story (4:43) Fort Monmouth history and Kara’s personal connection (12:03) FMERA’s mission, land use, and redevelopment process (18:53) How the plan changed over time (22:09) Historic preservation and design challenges (33:52) How Netflix came to Fort Monmouth (45:03) Other major projects, including the new hospital and Riverwalk (50:39) What happens when the redevelopment work nears the finish line

Christian Giordano

Welcome to The Anti-Architect Podcast. I’m your host Christian Giordano. As the president and owner of design firm Mancini Duffy, I’m driven by a quest for learning and radically changing the industry through tech-first innovation. With this podcast, I’m hoping to improve the industry that I’m so passionate about by taking a critical look at how architects work with their clients and, in turn, how our clients view us. It’s my goal to showcase all of these experiences - good and bad. Was it the architect or the client - or somewhere in between? I aim to bring my audience new voices from our industry, interesting people with diverse backgrounds. Through shared experiences, stories, and projects my hope is that we can improve our profession. www.theantiarchitect.com

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