New Shopping Center Coming to Newman Springs Road

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 By John Burton
SHREWSBURY – Development of a new shopping center on the former site of Memory Lanes by the firm behind The Grove promises to please Two River shoppers within a month.
“That’s what I always try to do,” with these projects, said Metrovation/Terranomics Chris Cole. “Create an interesting mix of tenants for the customer.”
Speaking of the 89 Newman Springs Road location, Metrovation’s retail and commercial site is in the final stages of construction and Cole said his firm is looking to fill the relatively small site with the type of businesses that would appeal to the Two-River-area shopper. The site is expected to have three to four businesses, with one tenant already signed, and construction estimated to be finished within the month, according to Cole.
Metrovation/Terranomics is a Seattle, Washington-based firm behind The Grove and Grove West shopping centers on Broad Street/Highway 35, in Shrewsbury, and the Brook 35 and West shopping centers, Sea Girt, and is a partner in the large-scale residential and commercial project West Side Lofts, completing construction on the west side of Red Bank.
The approximately 48,825 square-foot lot, on the southern side of Newman Springs Road/County Road 520, a short distance from the Grove and Grove West and about a mile from downtown Red Bank, had been the home to Memory Lane Bowling until it was destroyed by fire in June 2009 with Metrovation purchasing the site in 2013.
Cole regularly drives along Newman Springs Road and when the property became available he “thought it was a good location for another retail spot.”
Platypus, a home furnishings store, has closed its Grove shop and will relocate to 89 Newman Springs Road. “They wanted to stay in this market,” Cole said, believing the move is “a logical place for them.”
The development has been approved and can accommodate up to a 1,500 square-foot restaurant, and Metrovation is continuing to secure an appropriate eatery for the site. In addition, the firm is in negotiations with a mix of national, regional and independent retailers about taking the additional available spaces.
“We’re trying to figure what the right mix of it is,” for the shopping center, he said.
And that’s the strategy for Metrovation, he explained: “A certain synergy between the tenants,” and businesses that would appeal to area shoppers. “I think the Grove has a little bit for everyone,” Cole said, “and I think this one will as well.”
He expected the shopping center will be fully leased by the end of spring.