Professional Experience
Associated Office
Chester F. Allen is an Executive Vice President, and member of the four-person CBRE | Raleigh’s Land Services Group. Chester specializes in land sale transactions, handling all aspects of the buyer and seller representation process. He focuses on single and multifamily residential, office, retail, industrial, urban redevelopment, and master planned communities.
Originally from Southeastern North Carolina, and having lived in Raleigh for over 30 years, Chester has extensive local knowledge and relationships, which he leverages for the benefits of his clients. He has over 15 years of experience and has completed transactions in every sector of the industry, in multiple states. Over the years, he has served as a consultant for lenders and as a liaison throughout North Carolina and the Southeast, solidifying his reputation as one of the top industry experts.
Chester has represented some of the largest and most complicated land transactions in the Triangle Region and is consistently one of the top producing brokers in the Carolinas. As a member of the CBRE | Raleigh Land Services Group, Chester and the team completed $176.1M in sales in 2020. Recently, the team was recognized by the Triangle Business Journal’s Space Awards for representing the second largest sale transaction in the Triangle during 2020 for the sale of 110 acres in Parmer RTP; the first and third largest sales transaction in the Triangle during 2017 for the sale of 411 S. Roxboro Street in Durham and NC Hwy 42 & US Hwy. 70 in Clayton, as well as achieving the third largest sale in 2018 for Olde Towne and in 2015 for 8341 & 8515 Old Lead Mine Road, both in Raleigh. Additionally, he has been awarded CBRE | Raleigh’s 2015 Top 5 Producer and CBRE | Raleigh’s Broker of the Year, as voted on by his peers.
- Licensed Real Estate Broker, North Carolina
- Board Member, Triangle Community Coalition (TCC)
- Member, International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
- Member, Urban Land Institute (ULI)
- Member, Certified Commercial Investment Manager Organization (CCIM)
- Appalachian State University - Walker College of Business
- Member, White Memorial Presbyterian Church Generosity Committee
- Board Member, Habitat for Humanity of Wake County Land Acquisition Committee
- Board Member, Appalachian Real Estate Holdings, Inc.
- Former President & Board Member, Ravenscroft School Alumni Council
- Former Member, Appalachian State University Yosef Club Advisory Board
- Alumni, Leadership Triangle Transforming Leaders Program
Recently Represented Clients
- BB&T
- Brookfield Properties
- Camden Property Trust
- Carter USA
- Crescent Communities
- Greenhawk Corporation
- Halle Companies
- Karlin Real Estate Partners
- M/I Homes
- Mungo Homes
- Newland Communities
- PNC Bank
- Pulte Homes
- Southwood Realty
- Stephens Family Office
- Summit Church
- Teleflex
- The Widewaters Group
- Trammell Crow Company
- Trammell Crow Residential
- Trinity Capital
- Wood Partners
Client/Location | Asset Type | Acreage | Sale Price |
Narsingi Investors, Ltd. Narsingi Village, Hyderabad, India |
Multifamily Residential Land | 16.60 |
$65,865,840 |
Eli Lilly Company Parmer RTP, Moore Drive, Durham, NC |
Industrial/R&D Land |
110.00 |
$36,000,000 |
Research Triangle Foundation The Lab @ RTP, Durham, NC |
Industrial/R&D Land |
72.06 |
$20,500,000 |
Newland Communities/NASH Catawba River Assemblage, Rock Hill, SC |
Recreational Land |
1,808.00 |
$20,000,000 |
Bellwood Homeowner's Association Bellwood Drive, Raleigh, NC |
Multifamily Residential Land |
4.91 |
Undisclosed |
Trinity Capital Advisors Eastgate540, Knightdale, NC |
Industrial Building & Land |
30.02 |
$14,300,000 |
Durham Partnership Group, LLC 411 S. Roxboro Street, Durham, NC |
Mixed Use Land |
4.18 |
$13,500,000 |
The Halle Companies Rock Quarry Road, Raleigh, NC |
Mixed Use Residential Land |
531.61 |
$10,500,000 |
Norfolk Southern NC Hwy. 42 & US Hwy. 70, Clayton, NC |
Industrial Land |
466.69 |
$9,000,000 |
First National Bank of Pennsylvania 1000 Ballena Circle, Cary, NC |
Multifamily Units & Land |
3.13 |
$8,000,000 |
Cornwallis RTP, LLC 2501 E. Cornwallis Road, Durham, NC |
Industrial Land |
101.49 |
$8,000,000 |
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC 3029 E. Cornwallis Road, Durham, NC |
Industrial Land |
104.61 |
$7,636,530 |
Doc Nichols Road, LLC Pickett Road & Garrett Road, Durham, NC |
Single Family Residential Land |
70.88 |
$7,130,000 |
General Electric T.W. Alexander Drive, Durham, NC |
Industrial Land |
48.27 |
$7,061,941 |
The Summit Church Capital Hill Drive, Raleigh, NC |
Assembly Land | 69.94 |
$6,850,000 |
Food Lion, LLC O'Kelly Chapel Road, Cary, NC |
Mixed Use Land |
22.91 |
$6,750,000 |
Mallinckrodt, Inc. 8701 & 8801 Durant Road, Raleigh, NC |
Industrial Land |
32.22 |
$6,500,000 |
Branaman Hasentree, Wake Forest, NC |
Single Family Residential Land |
65.23 |
$6,210,000 |
Team Overview

LSG Team Capabilities Brochure
Providing acquisition, disposition and valuation services for developers, investors and landowners in and around the Triangle.
CBRE|Raleigh Land Services is comprised of six experienced professionals focused exclusively on land transactions, with a comprehensive ability to evaluate the highest and best use of land parcels. This team – backed by the resources of the world’s largest commercial real estate firm – consults developers, users, investors and landowners throughout the metro and outstate areas to assist in the disposition of all types of property. With over 80 years of combined experience, this market leading group sold 1,724 acres and represented 47 transactions in the Triangle area, totaling $157M in 2022.
“The team at CBRE|Raleigh were an invaluable resource for us on a deal we recently completed on a very complex property,” a representative of a regional bank said. “Their extensive knowledge of the local market, combined with their dedication to understanding our needs and to working with us as a partner, helped to bring us together with a buyer who was the right fit for the property and for us.”
Success Stories
"Carlton, Well, I think we got it done! I expect this one will live as the most time spent per dollar earned of any successful closing you've been involved with. Thanks for keeping after it to find an actual buyer. I have not looked back to see when CBRE first formally engaged in the effort but I'm sure it was more than 9 years ago we started working on this. For 15 acres at the end of the road it turned up about every conceivable obstacle a land transaction could imagine. I think all we lacked was a contaminated soil problem. The CBRE team did a good job understanding the market for our niche and finding most likely candidates. Thanks for helping us 'get her done.'"
"Chester, I want to thank you and the Raleigh CBRE team for your guidance and professionalism with the selling of our family farm. Not being familiar with large real estate transactions such as this one, I was rather overwhelmed at the daunting prospect of understanding the whole process. You and your team provided the most helpful direction and counsel at every step of the way and made me feel constantly reassured that we were working the best deal possible. I was impressed with your market knowledge and industry contacts that made the marketing to contracting to closing timeline surprisingly short."
"Barry, I’m not sure I can articulate the depth of my appreciation to you for what you did for our family. You were a perfect fit for each of us. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding. We’re not the easiest bunch to deal with, I imagine, but you handled and managed us so beautifully. We had unwavering trust in you. Your decency shines through! I don’t think I can find the words to express our gratitude to you. I believe it may have been Paul Snow in Chapel Hill who recommended that I contact you about selling mother’s property. It was truly the best recommendation I ever received."
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