For builder Cesar Lopez of East L.A. Beverly Hills is a land of opportunity.

The man who razed the infamous green sheik's mansion on Sunset Boulevard is on a roll. After slowly building a reputation as a residential contractor for the well-to-do, Cesar Lopez Jr. has arrived as a real estate force in the stratosphere of Beverly Hills.

Cleaning up the burned-out hulk of Sheik Mohammed S.A. Al-Fassi's home to make way for two new estates brought Lopez national media attention and the respect of locals.

"It was instant currency with financial institutions and the building community," says Lopez, 39, who's now getting ready to plunge ahead with a $45 million commercial development in the "Golden Triangle" of Beverly Hills.

Reputation is important to the soft-spoken son of immigrant parents who grew up in East Los Angeles. His Spanish father was a merchant seaman and his Mexican mother a seamstress. Lopez Jr. was the oldest of four children and got loans to attend college after graduating from Wilson High School. He earned an engineering degree from Cal State Los Angeles and a masters in business from UCLA.

"My father had the foresight to bring us to this country where you can get the tools that education gives you to succeed," he says.

Now when Lopez brings his 78-year-old father over from East Los Angeles to see the estates he's building in Beverly Hills his father "feels like he brought us to the promised land."

With 10 homes under construction now -- eight in Beverly Hills and two in Bel Air -- Lopez believes he's the most active residential builder in the area. It's a unique niche because there isn't enough volume in the established pricey neighborhoods for large scale developers and start-up costs are too high for smaller builders. Lots cost at least $1 million and a builder must raise at least $500,000 to $700,000 in cash before getting a lender to cooperate on a spec house. The houses he's building now are in the $2.9 million to $7.5 million range.

Lopez edged into the market "the hard way," he says. After college he worked as an engineer for the Summa Corp., doing analysis on that company's massive Playa del Rey project. An interest in real estate was born and he did some small scale apartment development on the side.

His next plan was to build two homes in Cheviot Hills, one of them for himself. It took twice as long and cost twice as much as he thought it would, making him realize that there was a need to help would-be homeowners put together the kind of projects they envisioned.

Lopez sold the two Cheviot Hills homes and moved on to Bel Air, then sold that house for one in Beverly Hills, where he still lives. Along the way he learned the ropes of custom home development and began establishing his reputation.

Five years ago he opened Custom Space Builders, which has built about 25 homes including one for Ervin "Magic" Johnson in Bel Air. The Los Angeles Laker included an indoor racquetball court in his house that doubles as a half-court basketball arena.

Providing these nuances is what custom home building -- Beverly Hills style -- is all about, says Lopez. He views himself as "a Beverly Hills retailer, at the high end of the scale."

People who buy his homes are doing much more than putting a roof over their heads -- they're making a statement and "when you're spending that kind of money, you ought to get what you want."

In the caseof one home he's finishing up now, that included a 40-foot heated waterfall cascading down the hillside into a rocked-in swimming pool and spa.

The big-ticket items generally involve what Lopez calls "curb appeal" outside, a spectacular entryway inside and security. The master bedroom and other key rooms are important, too, but after that, such deluxe items as Thermador ovens and a central vacuum are icing by comparison.

Servants quarters are also de rigeuer, considering that 25 percent of Beverly Hills population of 40,000 is domestic help.

"We have to create magic, excitement," says Lopez.

Los Angeles is unique in that its residents want to make these kinds of statements with their homes, Lopez believes. He's thankful he never got involved in the high-priced condos along the Wilshire Boulevard corridor that were expected to lure homeowners out of their Beverly Hills estates for a more urban lifestyle. "Now the banks own most of them," he says. "That may work in New York, but it won't work here. People perfer lawns and the estate feel for that kind of money."

Lopez tries to help with the whole package. As president of parent company CLJ (his initials), he oversees three independent firms: Beverly Realty Enterprises, Custom Space Builders, and Design Architecture Group.

The object is to provide a turnkey option for homebuyers, with Lopez acting as developer. His wife, licensed contractor Colleen McClelland, heads Custom Space Builders. Architect James Kawahara heads the design group. The three businesses function both independently and as a group. Lopez plans to add a mortgage company to the team this year.

The Sunset Boulevard site where the young sheik once painted details onto nude statuary will be vacant until April, when Lopez expects to have final subdivision approval from the state. Beverly Hills officials have already given thumbs up to his proposal to divide the lot into two two-acre estates.

So it is with construction in this built-out city -- residential building involves subdivision or the demolition of an existing home that's "not up to par, says Lopez. His realty firm just sold such a one acre lot (with a view) on Doheny Drive for $2.375 million, a new city record for an empty lot.

"If you don't get caught up in the gloss, this is a great place to be from a business standpoint," says Lopez.

"It's also a scary city to work in. It has infinite potential, but any small mistakes or errors are very difficult to overcome. They wouldn't be forgotten."