SANDY HOOK -- The National Park Service finally has a taker for one of its historic buildings at Sandy Hook's Fort Hancock.
A pair of investors has agreed to lease a 77-year-old brick building that once housed Army families and turn it into a year-round vacation rental overlooking Sandy Hook Bay.
After weathering one failed attempt to save nearly three dozen of the buildings at the former waterfront Army base, the park service hopes this first lease will jumpstart other investors' and developers' interest in repurposing the buildings while salvaging history.
"We are looking forward to working with our lessees for years to come," said Gateway Superintendent Jennifer T. Nersesian. "This is a great start for our end goal to lease all of the buildings in Fort Hancock and create a viable, vital community that enhances this national park."
She called the investors, Brian Samuelson and Joseph Dorsey, "pioneers" for being the first to lease one of the 33 structures - most of which date back to 1898 and 1899.
Building 21 on Officers' Row was the first of 33 historic buildings at Fort Hancock to be leased
In his proposal, Samuelson, of Atlantic Highlands, suggested turning the 5,715-square-foot building on Officers' Row into a family residence in the off-season and a weekly, monthly or seasonal rental to the public during the summer.
"We hope to pave the way to save all of these magnificent structures out on Sandy Hook and further enhance the work of the National Park Service," Samuelson and Dorsey said in a joint statement.
They've set up the website Sandyhookrentals.com to handle inquiries and provide updates.
The terms of the 60-year lease were not immediately disclosed.
The park service first tried in 2001 to lease the buildings en masse, but the deal fell through when the redeveloper failed to secure the funding. The park service eventually cancelled the contract in 2009.
In this newest attempt to save the deteriorating buildings, the park service set up a committee, the Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee, which decided to lease the buildings separately to avoid a repeat of the previous failed attempt.
Two years ago the park service started putting the buildings up for lease in phases.
A U.S. Army fort since Colonial times, the base at the northern tip of Sandy Hook was known as the Sandy Hook Proving Ground before it was renamed Fort Hancock in 1895. It was deactivated in 1974.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.