Metrovation is a specialty real estate development company. We create, market and manage unique properties that bring new possibilities and new life to places.

A Philosopher of Place
Where others see rubble, developer Merritt Sher sees Xanadu,
and he's envisioning his next in downtown Oakland
Danielle Svetcov | August 5, 2001

We are a country of 45,115 shopping centers, according to the National Research Bureau's 2000 poll. Some 6,044 of those malls are located in California.

Of them all, it is safe, though unscientific, to describe a good number as downright ugly. Pink. Plastic. Surreal. In the Bay Area, where aestheticism is practically a political party, reaction to unsightly developments is particularly virulent. Here, the words "commercial developer" are about as unsettling as "owner move-in eviction."

But those who feel that way don't know Merritt Sher. Sher promises not to ruin your town with an ugly mall or retail strip. Think of him as an urban- planning sage. For the past 30 or so years, Sher, now 61, has been transforming towns - for the better, he claims. He finds a place that is down on its luck and sees the way to re-infuse it with life, to give it "back its confidence." "I'm not in the real estate business like other people are in the real estate
topbusiness," Sher says. He's in the business to build communities. click for more

Community Builder
In Ron Sher's 'third places,' people come first
By William Dietrich | November 9, 2003

A celebrity author event in what has become the social heart of Lake Forest Park, Third Place Books, had some particularly startling moments.

No, it was not Sen. Hillary Clinton with her perfect makeup and tireless politician smile. It was not the line of 1,500 book buyers that stretched out the door on a hazy summer day. It was not the heaps of books, the Secret Service agents or the author's apparent immunity from writer's cramp as she signed and signed and signed her best-selling autobiography.

Rather it was the reaction of some customers to Ron Sher, the unpretentious bookstore owner who was mostly ignored by his frantic employees and shooed to one side by the police. The mild-mannered entrepreneur seemed lost in the crowd, yet strangers kept
topcoming up and saying things developers don't often hear: click for more

Power of Convenience Bred Sher’s New Format
By Ed McKinley | May 2004

It was the mid-1980s, and conventional shopping center formats were falling short. The new category-killer retail chains needed centers that could accommodate them, while “mission” shoppers wanted to get straight to their stores without traipsing through super-regional malls. The power center was born.

Merritt Sher in 1986 opened what many consider to be the first power center: 280 Metro Center, in Colma, Calif.

In a career that has spanned 35 years in real estate development, Sher recalls that gaps in his background shaped his initial approach to developing shopping centers.

“When I was new in this business, I didn’t have contacts with supermarkets,” he said.
topSupermarkets were the usual anchors for neighborhood strip centers. click for more

The ‘Third Place’ in Our Lives: Could it be a mall with a soul?
By Neal R. Peirce

Eighteen years ago this column reported that Victor Gruen, the Austrian-American architect credited with conceiving and designing America’s first post-World War II shopping center, had decided to disavow his own progeny.

His early intent, Gruen told me in an interview in his native Vienna, was that shopping centers be “more than selling machines.” They’d also provide post offices, circulating libraries, club meeting rooms, everything it takes to make a real town center. But “fast-buck promoters and speculators” focusing exclusively on selling had irreparably corrupted his idea, Gruen said.

One would like to bring Victor Gruen back to life for just a day and take him out to the Crossroads Mall in the lively, multi-ethnic neighborhood of east Bellevue, outside Seattle. Crossroads is taking on some essentials of townhood – a mini-town hall, a police station,
topmeeting rooms and a stage open to all comers. click for more

Metrovation Understands Art
Red Bank developer exhibits work of Linda Gayoso
By Jason Thomson | October 2005

Monet’s Guitar by Linda GayosoYou read the headline correctly. Red Bank developer exhibits work of Linda Gayoso.

When some hear the word developer, they get scared. When we hear the word developer followed by Metrovation, we get excited.

Because it’s not often you find a group that cares about the arts the way Metrovation/Terranomics, a retail and commercial developer based
topin San Francisco, Seattle and Red Bank, does. click for more

Metrovation and TRTC Honored
December 2005

When longtime TRTC supporter and subscriber Chris Cole accepted the 2005 Corporate Philanthropy Award on behalf of Metrovation/Terranomics, Two River ended up sharing the honor. In a classic example of “paying it forward,” Metrovation/Terranomics had no sooner accepted their award, when they turned around and honored TRTC by designating a grant from the Mary Birch Foundation for our general operating fund. Chris Cole is a partner with Metrovation/Terranomics in Red Bank. Metrovation/Terranomics was named Corporate Patron of the Arts at the 2005 Corporate Philanthropy Awards, held on November 2, 2005 at the Newark Museum. Award recipients are chosen annually by corporate executives from companies who have been honored in previous years and Community Foundation of New Jersey Trustees. Metrovation/Terranomics was nominated by the Monmouth County Arts Council.

“Metrovation/Terranomics was founded on the premise of being community-based Real Estate Company. Using our projects to positively affect their surrounding communities has always come naturally to the partnership,” stated Mr. Cole.

Metrovation/Terranomics has been among the theater’s corporate leaders, contributing both to the Capital Campaign and establishing an on-going Scholarship Program, “The Play’s the Thing,” that each season provides advanced theater students from area schools with ticket subscriptions, symposia exploring each production, and workshops with theater professionals.

For information about Corporate Partnerships at Two River, please contact the
topDevelopment Office at 732-345-1400, ext. 820, email: esobo@trtc.org.

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