Ron Strom

Manager, Co-founder

Ron co-founded Blue Heron in 2011. He serves as an advisor on the execution of Blue Heron’s real estate investment strategy, including continuing to be active in sourcing and negotiating investment opportunities. Ron continues to be involved in the firm’s organizational strategies, including long-term succession planning and the advancement of ESG initiatives. He maintains key relationships with investors, lenders, and other real estate industry leaders, facilitated by his lifelong passion for involvement with community and philanthropic initiatives.

Ron has over 40 years of commercial real estate experience, spanning development, acquisitions, dispositions, debt transactions, lease negotiation, asset management, advisory work, and brokerage. Prior to co-founding Blue Heron, Ron developed, acquired, and invested in multiple property types including residential, historic renovations, office, retail, land for development, student housing, and multifamily projects. He led the assemblage, development, and disposition of a portfolio of retail centers to a publicly traded REIT, the redevelopment and ground-up construction of two Whole Foods centers in North Carolina, and the development of four projects for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ron has served as a real estate consultant to Whole Foods Market, UNC-Chapel Hill, and GlaxoSmithKline.

Ron has and continues to serve on numerous boards and in leadership positions within the greater Triangle area of North Carolina. He chaired a $2 million capital campaign for WUNC Public Radio and served as the chairman of the board for Triangle Land Conservancy. He served as chairman of the Leadership Council for the Triangle Community Foundation after serving as its finance committee chair. He has served on the boards of UNC Board of Visitors, the Self-Help Ventures Fund, and the Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation. He continues to assist local agencies with affordable housing initiatives and currently serves on the Leadership Committee for a $7.5 million Habitat for Humanity capital campaign that will result in a Chapel Hill mixed-income community. He is assisting the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in its efforts to complete an east-west trail across North Carolina. As part of gaining development entitlements for a Fund I asset, Ron authored Chapel Hill’s first affordable housing rental agreement, a concept that was a finalist for Urban Land Institute’s ‘best ideas’ in the Triangle for 2014.

Ron received a BA in English and education from Vassar College and a Master of Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.