Real Estate Advisor for Family Offices and Institutions
Many family offices and not-for-profit institutions are sitting on significant real estate assets without a clear strategy for how to maximize their value. I've made the deliberate decision to focus my talents on unlocking that potential — helping clients move from uncertainty to a clear, actionable path forward.
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The Advisory Practice
I work with a select number of land-holding family offices and institutions at a strategic advisory level. Engagements typically begin with a focused conversation about what you have and what it could become — and progress through a disciplined process refined over 40+ years of development experience.
The process is straightforward:
Inventory.
Start with an honest assessment of what you actually have — current entitlements, physical constraints, market context, carrying costs, and the gap between current value and realistic potential.
Prioritize.
Apply a consistent set of criteria — aligned with your financial goals, risk tolerance, time horizon, and values — to identify which assets deserve serious attention and which are better left as they are.
Concept.
For the highest-potential assets, value creation begins with a great idea rooted in the property's specific character and context — not a generic development template.
Feasibility.
Test the concept rigorously before committing capital — market demand, entitlement likelihood, political and community reception, financial viability across a realistic range of scenarios.
Role.
Determine how you want to be involved — active development, joint venture, limited partnership, ground lease, or outright sale of an entitled parcel. Each path has a different risk profile and return potential.
Execute.
Create and implement a development plan consistent with what the analysis has revealed — with the right team, the right process, and the discipline to make difficult decisions when the plan meets reality.
Engagements are structured as a flat fee for the initial asset inventory, followed by a monthly retainer for ongoing advisory services.
Notable Projects
About David Malmuth
With 40+ years of experience as both a development principal and consultant on complex, high-profile projects, I've helped institutions like Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu think through tough questions and craft development plans that create real value — both financial and for the community. I bring the kind of judgment that only comes from having actually built things, not just analyzed them.
I work with a select number of land-holding family offices and institutions at a strategic advisory level, helping them understand what they actually have, identify the highest-potential assets, develop compelling concepts, test feasibility rigorously, and determine the right development path forward.
Before founding David Malmuth Development, LLC in 2010, I served as Senior Vice President at TrizecHahn Development, where I led the $615M Hollywood & Highland complex including the Kodak Theatre — now the Dolby Theatre, home of the Academy Awards. Before that, as Vice President and General Manager at Disney Development Company-West, I managed $200M+ in entertainment and corporate projects including the restoration of the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street with architect Hugh Hardy, and Disney Ice in Anaheim with Frank Gehry. From 2003 to 2010 I was Founder and Managing Director of RCLCO's Development Services Group, advising corporate and institutional clients on headquarters, mixed-use, retail/entertainment, and waterfront developments.
Since 2010, notable consulting and development assignments have included LEGOLAND California's long-term growth strategy, the IDEA District innovation neighborhood in downtown San Diego, master planning for the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and multiple entertainment and mixed-use opportunities.
Stanford MBA. Claremont McKenna College, Magna Cum Laude. ULI member for 40+ years.
Based in Santa Ynez Valley, California. Available for engagements nationally.
How I Work
Every engagement begins with listening — understanding the family's goals, values, time horizon, and risk tolerance before forming any view about what a property could become. The analysis follows the work, not the other way around.
For the initial asset inventory, I charge a flat fee based on the complexity and number of properties involved. For ongoing strategic advisory, engagements are structured as a monthly retainer — typically beginning with one or two properties that show the highest potential, and expanding from there as the relationship develops.
I work with a small number of clients at any one time, which means the engagement gets my full attention rather than being managed by a junior team. When specific technical expertise is required — market analysis, engineering, entitlement counsel, architecture — I bring in trusted specialists rather than pretending to be all things to all clients.
The goal of every engagement is a clear, honest answer to a simple question: what should you do with this asset, and why?
What Collaborators Say
“Dave is one of our absolute favorite collaborators and thought partners. He brings creativity and vision that generates great results. And he has insights into how development actually gets done and the impact of innovation that can move markets. I highly recommend working with him.”
“I have been fortunate to partner with David on several projects over the last 10 years. His vast experience in master planning, design and sensitivity to the people spaces between the buildings allows him to envision a project and then pull together the right team members to make it happen.”
“David Malmuth and I have enjoyed a decades-long professional and personal relationship. In my circle, he is the ‘go to’ guy in taking up complicated mixed-use development either from the ground up or as an adaptive reuse. He is the most excellent thinker, creator, and people person that I know in the industry.”
Let’s Work Together
If you are a family office or institution that is seeking an advisor that can assist you with creatively unlocking the hidden potential of your real estate holdings, we should talk.