Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) is pleased to announce the addition of Charlie Farra as managing director and Matt Betterman as associate director to its Seattle office. Farra and Betterman are tenant rep specialists in the downtown Seattle market.
Farra joins NKF from Colliers International where he served as vice president specializing in tenant representation. He excels at strategic real estate planning, consulting and using office space to optimize employee performance. His clients have included Dorsey & Whitney, Sonos, Blue Bird Bio and Alliant Insurance, among others. Prior to his role at Colliers, Farra was a broker with CBRE.
Betterman was most recently an associate at Colliers International where he focused on tenant representation. He specializes in strategic real estate planning for a diverse client base from tech start-ups to professional service firms. Some of his client experience includes Eye Associates Northwest, ECONorthwest, RealPage, Lightpress, World Justice Project, among many others.
“Seattle is an exciting region that continues to attract high-profile corporations as well as major investment capital. We are building this team with strong talent to ensure that we are well- positioned to make a difference in this market,” said Greg May, executive vice president, regional managing director, NKF.
“I really like both the boutique aspect of NKF’s Seattle office while benefitting from the firm’s global platform,” said Farra. “It’s not very often you get the opportunity to directly influence the culture of an office in this big a city with this strong a company.”
Farra further noted that, Seattle has evolved into a global city that continues to expand beyond its well-known technology players. “This city’s ingenuity and start-up atmosphere has fostered some of the world’s most exciting and innovative ideas. Being involved with even a small piece of that work makes it fun to get up in the morning,” Farra shared.
According to NKF, Seattle’s landscape continues to expand bringing increased rental rates, an ultra-competitive labor force, traffic and higher salaries that can make it a challenge for companies that are more accustomed to “old Seattle.”
“That’s why our role as tenant rep brokers is so critical. We’re developing plans to combat and even take advantage of these changes. Which is incredibly rewarding,” said Farra.
The new hires follow the recent addition of Nicholas Kucha as vice chairman of the Pacific Northwest Capital Markets, further building NKF’s west coast capital markets team. Kucha is focused on Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon.
About Newmark Knight Frank
Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) is one of the world’s leading commercial real estate advisory firms. Together with London-based partner Knight Frank and independently-owned offices, NKF’s 15,000 professionals operate from more than 400 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents. With roots dating back to 1929, NKF’s strong foundation makes it one of the most trusted names in commercial real estate. NKF’s full-service platform comprises BGC’s real estate services segment, offering commercial real estate tenants, landlords, investors and developers a wide range of services including leasing; capital markets services, including investment sales, debt placement, valuation and advisory services; commercial mortgage brokerage services; as well as corporate advisory services, consulting, project and development management, and property and corporate facilities management services. For further information, visit www.ngkf.com. NKF is a part of BGC Partners, Inc., a leading global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets. BGC’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol (NASDAQ: BGCP). BGC also has an outstanding bond issuance of Senior Notes due June 15, 2042, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol (NYSE: BGCA). BGC Partners is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Howard W. Lutnick. For more information, please visit www.bgcpartners.com.
