Multifamily Team Establishes Presence in Silicon Valley

Henry says ARA will be a multi-housing force across Silicon Valley.

PALO ALTO, CA—With an eye toward Silicon Valley reach, ARA, a Newmark Company , extends its Northern California presence to Palo Alto. The firm adds nine experienced multifamily brokers, including executive managing directors, Justin Bautista and Brian Henry ; senior managing directors Matt Thomson, Steve Zirelli and Vinay Bhatia ; managing directors Scott Kilpatrick, Bryan Danforth and Joel Hopman ; and director, Justin Sieber . “The team in Palo Alto builds upon ARA Newmark’s San Francisco and Sacramento offices, establishing a stronghold in Silicon Valley, the Bay Area and the Capital Corridor region. These brokers have a standout reputation among clients and peers as some of the region’s leading multi-housing experts,” said James D. Kuhn , president of NGKF . The Palo Alto-based team will leverage Newmark Cornish & Carey’s 13 offices in Northern California. “The backing of NGKF’s global resources continues to catalyze ARA Newmark’s expansion in the US and attract elite-level talent,” said Blake Okland , vice chairman and head of US multifamily at ARA Newmark. With more than 15 years of experience, Bautista has closed more than 400 transactions in excess of $1.2 billion. He joins ARA Newmark from Cushman & Wakefield , where he consistently ranked among the top five brokers in Palo Alto and top 20 companywide. Previously, he was a vice president of investments and director of the national multifamily team at Marcus & Millichap . A 10 year-veteran, Henry specializes in multifamily, investment properties and development opportunities with more than 300 transactions valued in excess of $1 billion in his career. The Los Altos, CA, native began as an investment broker at Marcus & Millichap and most recently served as executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield, where he consistently ranked among the top five brokers in Palo Alto and top 20 companywide. Henry tells GlobeSt.com: “With our team in Palo Alto building on ARA Newmark’s San Francisco and Sacramento offices, we’ll be the dominant multi-housing force across Silicon Valley, the Bay Area and the Capital Corridor. NGKF’s global platform and access to international capital is a tremendous benefit to our clients as investors increasingly target multifamily assets in the region.” Thomson is a 12-year veteran focusing on Peninsula and South Bay multifamily, residential development and triple net leased investment properties nationwide. He brings expertise in 1031 exchanges and a record of more than 300 sales eclipsing $400 million. Previously, he was vice president of Cushman & Wakefield’s multifamily group. Zirelli specializes in the sale of San Francisco Peninsula apartments, investment properties, development and triple net leased opportunities, completing more than $100 million in transactions in the last two years. Prior to his role at ARA Newmark, he spent three years at Cushman & Wakefield and 15 years in IT equipment sales. Bhatia is a multifamily investment specialist with particular expertise in the Santa Clara County submarkets. Before joining ARA Newmark, he was vice president at Cushman and Wakefield. Since 2012, he has closed more than $200 million in apartment sales. Kilpatrick specializes in the sales of apartment properties, raw and entitled land, mobile home parks, 1031 exchanges and net leased acquisitions. In 16 years, he has closed more than 350 sales totaling more than $600 million. Previously, he was a senior vice president and director of the national multi-housing team at Cushman & Wakefield. Danforth has closed more than $100 million in multifamily, residential development, and triple net leased retail exchanges ranging from small private client apartments to institutional sized communities worth in excess of $10 million, with a focus on the Silicon Valley submarkets of Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Mountain View. Hopman brings expertise in the acquisition and disposition of multi-family assets, 1031 exchanges, development opportunities and mixed-use properties in Santa Clara County, as well as net leased investment properties nationwide. In 2015, he closed nearly $40 million in trade at Cushman & Wakefield. Sieber specializes in the acquisition and disposition of multifamily investment properties, as well as development opportunities in the Bay Area. In the past five years, he has completed more than 80 transactions totaling $175 million in consideration. “Justin, Brian and their team will undoubtedly complement our strong multifamily offering at Newmark Cornish & Carey. As the dominant commercial real estate advisory operation in the area, we continue to grow and expand our capabilities,” said Chuck Seufferlein, president, western region, Newmark Cornish & Carey.