Heather Allen has been vice president at Allen Land Group for four years.
Prior to that, she worked with Allen Land Group as a consultant for three years.
Allen is a commercial real estate brokerage company that also manages the investment in land and the development of commercial property for its clients. The company also operates a wetland mitigation bank, Mitigation Solutions, Inc.
Allen is not related to the owner of Allen Land Group. “It was just a coincidence.”
“Not everyone at Allen Land Group has the name ‘Allen’ but Allen Land Group is a family business and the office is managed in a way that we all feel like family. I’m extremely blessed to work with the people that I do.”
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
“Primarily, I am responsible for securing entitlements for our client’s investments. I plan and coordinate land use applications and permits for development. I am also involved in marketing, contract negotiation and management. I perform site analysis and due diligence and provide professional planning consultation related to the master planning, site design and development of property.”
WHERE DID SHE WORK BEFORE ALLEN LAND GROUP?
Bessent, Hammack & Ruckman for three and a half years and in the St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Department for nine and a half years.
WHO NEEDS HER COMPANY’S SERVICES?
Land owners interested in selling their land, investors interested in purchasing land and applicants that need wetland mitigation for their permits.
WHAT TYPE OF CLIENTS DOES SHE HAVE?
“Our clients are typically land owners who want to sell to an end-user or the end-user looking for an appropriate piece of land to meet their needs.”
COLLEGE
Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Saint Leo University.
HOW DID SHE GET STARTED IN THE LAND BUSINESS?
“I started in the Planning Department as a means to pay the bills and my college tuition. I was pursuing a degree in psychology with no idea what planning was or that you could have a career in it. I found the work to be incredibly rewarding and so I stuck with it. I started as a technician and worked my way through the ranks to a planner position in St. Johns County. BHR was a consulting firm that did a lot of work in St. Johns County and they offered me a planner position with their firm. I was providing consulting services for Allen Land Group and they asked me to join their company.”
WHAT DOES SHE LIKE ABOUT IT?
Allen said it is very dynamic and challenging. “Things can change quickly due to changes in the market, public perception, politics, legislature, demographics. It’s never boring. I also get to work with a lot of wonderful people.”
HOW HAS THE MARKET IMPACTED HER COMPANY?
“We have shifted more of our attention on purchasing land. There is a lot of land for sale so we have had to become more strategic and systematic in our review of available properties. We also had to reach a consensus on the type of deals we were looking for. We can now determine fairly quickly if a property meets our criteria. It has increased our efficiency within the office.”
WHAT DOES SHE SEE IN THE FUTURE OF DEVELOPMENT OF JACKSONVILLE?
“With the City’s diverse employment base, the expansion of our port, and the City’s ongoing investment in infrastructure and jobs, I see continued stable and long-term growth for Jacksonville.”
- Michele Newbern Gillis