Arlene Utal
CalDRE #02064720
Commercial Sales & Leasing
Land Use & Entitlements
Highly experienced and respected in the community, Arlene Utal is a proven real estate talent who represents buyers and sellers with over three decades of experience in real estate sales, development, real estate acquisitions, land entitlements and business ownership.
Arlene has the ability to understand both the needs of Principals, Buyers & Sellers and the role of a Consultant. Clients can be assured that when making critical decisions she has the benefit of having been on both sides of the table. Arlene’s experience and knowledge is extensive whether it is working on large scale Master Plan communities, to change of use permitting, easements negotiations and representing either side of a transaction.
Arlene is an articulate communicator who interacts easily with a wide scope of personalities. She is responsiveness and skillful through all aspects of the transaction, explaining the process and personally reviewing the details of each contract and offer.
- Commercial Sales
- Commercial Leasing
- Entitlements
- Project Management
- Land Planning
- Subdivision Mapping
- General Plan Amendment
- Change of Use
- Community Outreach
- Lobbying
- EB-5 Regional Center
- Affordable Housing
- Zoning
Full service solutions for Commercial, Office, Retail, Hospitality, Multi-Family Residential and Mixed-Use Properties.
Arlene takes a hands-on approach to helping her clients make informed decisions to maximize the potential of their real estate investments.
Whether the clients need support with leasing, dispositions, development, re-positioning, 1031 exchanges or off market sales Arlene will tailor the strategy for each unique opportunity.
Thorough due diligence it is imperative when evaluating current and future market value of income producing properties. No matter the scale or profile of a property Arlene will take the same care to thoroughly evaluate all options for both institutional groups and families.
Experience in development, redevelopment, construction & the entitlement process
- CEQA, General Plan Amendments, zoning, land planning
- Working directly with both civil and soil engineers, land planners and architects
- Working with county and city government; community development & planning departments
- Land acquisition and entitlements associated with infill properties and community re-development
The following are just a few of projects Arlene has negotiated the land acquisition, coordinated both civil & soils engineers, land planning, architect & landscape architect and general contractors.
- Seven local community shopping centers in Dallas, TX
- Forty senior affordable apartments in Livermore, CA developed with Eden Housing
- Nine single family luxury homes in Walnut Creek, CA
- Twelve luxury hillside single family homes in Martinez, CA
- Twenty-six townhouses in Pleasanton, CA
- Three hundred and sixty apartments in Pleasanton, CA
- Eleven Single family homes and a historical estate restoration in Hayward, CA.
- Seventy affordable apartments in Pleasant Hill, CA developed with Bridge Housing
- Entitlements for 300 acres of a Master Planned Community in Manteca, CA
- Easement negotiation for a three-story retail building, Brentwood, CA
- Due diligence on numerous locations for Blvd Centers, Los Angeles, CA
- Initial study for a private land owner at Sunset & Vine, Hollywood, CA
Land Use and Entitlements
Land entitlement can be a very complicated and time consuming process. Projects submitted to local municipalities for approval are subject to extensive review and are heavily scrutinized before proceeding. This can lead to high costs and possible failure of the proposed project if you do not have the right people by your side to see it through. Hiring an expert well-versed in the entitlement process is the first step in realizing the viability of your development project.
A real estate entitlement is a right that allows and dictates what may be developed on a certain property and its uses. A land entitlement is created pursuant to a legal agreement with the local regulatory body that governs where the property is located.
The Process
The land entitlement process is often quite lengthy, taking anywhere from approximately three months to a couple of years depending on the complexity and perhaps opposition of the use of the project. Thus, it is extremely crucial that you find a team of development experts that have relationships with the local municipality responsible for review and approval of these types of projects. Having these types of relationships will eliminate many of the inherent delays and encourage expedited negotiations to obtain approval of your project.
The general process for obtaining a real estate land entitlement involves:
- Complete a premilinary study of the zoning and property limitations/history
- Determine the highest and best use for the property
- Assemble a well qualified team of professionals in the fields of architcture, engineering, land planning and environmental consultants.
- Draw schematic plans
- If re-zoning is needed that would require a seperate application process which must take place prior to requesting approvals
- Submission of land entitlement application that complies with all codes of the particular jurisdiction to the local Planning and Development Department Review Division
- Community outreach and meetings with the Planning Department/City Council lobbying for the project
- Attend public and approval hearings
Arlene has constructed and opened many businesses over her thirty plus year career. Mini storage units, three restaurants, full service carwash, six retail shopping centers. The past two recent ventures were in Southern California.
- Owner Muscle Beach Café
- Opened, June 2010 the Café is located directly on the Venice Boardwalk
- Sold the business 2 years later after getting back the total investment plus five times profit
- Managed all operations of the restaurant
-
Owner Red Diamond Yoga
- Opened June 1, 2013 with a full-service yoga studio in West Los Angeles
- General Manager of all operations
- Profitable 6 months after opening
- Averaging 1000 students per week
- Sold November 2018 for four times original investment
Metropolitan Realty Group
1722 Westwood Blvd. Suite 101
Los Angeles, CA 90024
www.MRGLA.com
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