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Rare Upper East Side parking garage condominium offers 10,470 square feet and 52 parking spaces

BKREA Chairman & CEO connects lessons from baseball to statistics, resilience, consistency, and the role of data in commercial real estate brokerage GetExecutive Coaching

BKREA announced the promotion of Taylor Bello to Chief Marketing & Operating Officer. In her expanded role, Bello will lead marketing, communications, and operations, strengthening the firm’s brand strategy and infrastructure as BKREA grows across NYC’s commercial real estate market.

BKREA has appointed Candice Gradenigo as Chief of Staff to support the Manhattan investment sales firm’s next phase of growth. Working closely with Chairman and CEO Bob Knakal, she will advance strategic initiatives, strengthen operations, and expand firm-wide organizational capabilities.

At this time of year, as we remember Sept. 11, 2001, I inevitably find myself thinking about time. I think about the people who went to work that morning expecting it to be an ordinary Tuesday.

Vacant, 200-Foot-Wide Development Site with Central Park Views Delivers Up to 282,925 Buildable Square Feet for an Ultra-Luxury Residential Condominium Tower

We asked more than five dozen people, from CEOs to chefs, how they’ve used their personal brand to boost their careers and how you can too. Plus: How to build your brand as career insurance or even an escape hatch to independence from Corporate America.

One of the biggest mistakes a broker can make when marketing an investment property for sale is prescribing the entire structured marketing process, including bid dates, number of bidding rounds, etc., before the market has had an opportunity to speak.

In this column on July 14, I wrote about something I believe is going to become increasingly important in business , particularly in commercial real estate: The value of information is declining while the value of judgment is increasing.

Delta Electronics (Thailand) Public Company Limited, a global leader in power management and smart green solutions, hosted the Delta Future Industry Summit 2026 under the theme Advancing Thailand’s Infrastructure for AI and Electrification Evolution at Hotel Nikko Bangkok

BKREA arranged the $31 million sale of 38 West 21st Street, a 12-story office building in Manhattan’s Flatiron District.

BKREA successfully arranged the $16.5 million sale of 36 East 12th Street, a seven-story commercial property in Greenwich Village, Manhattan.

New York City’s rent-stabilized housing stock has an increasingly serious economic problem.

500 Columbus Avenue NYC with Vacant residential floors, stable retail income, and a premier Upper West Side location drives strong investor demand

Bob Knakal’s Knassau County Knetworking series continued to build momentum on Tuesday, August 11, bringing together more than 100 real estate professionals, business leaders, investors, and dealmakers for its sixth event.

BKREA has completed the $16.5 million sale of 36 East 12th Street in Greenwich Village, a seven-story commercial building positioned for office-to-residential conversion. The transaction highlights continued investor demand for well-located Manhattan properties offering redevelopment and conversion potential.

New York commercial real estate firm expands access to development market research through its August newsletter and a new digital resource designed for developers, investors, property owners and industry professionals

1601 Bronxdale Avenue represents one of New York City's largest institutional industrial investment and redevelopment opportunities.

A dozen apartments on the Upper West Side have been vacant for roughly three decades, stacked on four floors directly above a supermarket plenty of neighbors walk past every day.

People often ask me what the secret was to building a business that sold more than three times the number of investment properties than any other firm in New York City for 14 consecutive years. They expect the answer to involve a particular strategy, a recruiting philosophy or some proprietary marketing technique.

The property rises five stories at the northwest corner of West 84th Street and Columbus Avenue, just one block west of Central Park. Its ground-floor retail is anchored by a Gristedes supermarket, above which sits a dozen apartment units that have been vacant for 30 years, BKREA’s Bob Knakal told Commercial Observer.

People often ask me what elite salespeople have in common. The answer usually surprises them. It isn’t charisma. It isn’t intelligence. It isn’t even natural talent.

Cromwell, CT The Connecticut CCIM Chapter welcomed over 100 commercial real estate professionals from across the region to its 2026 Annual Symposium last month at TPC River Highlands, bringing together industry practitioners for a morning of networking, professional development, and market insight.

Today, people often describe Bob Knakal as one of the most visible commercial real estate professionals in America. His articles are widely read. His videos circulate across social media. His podcasts generate thousands of views and downloads.

Rare Lower Manhattan assemblage delivers roughly 10,150 square feet of vacant land and a vacant building with flexible zoning for residential, hotel, office, or conversion

Sharing the inspiring stories and milestones of business leaders from around the globe. Stay connected for fresh insights, expert tips, and remarkable success stories.

Milestone assignment at 161 Tenth Avenue Highlights How a Research Driven Advisory Process is Reshaping Investment Property Marketing in New York City.

Discover the extraordinary journey of Bob Knakal, one of America’s most prolific commercial real estate brokers, in this exclusive edition of Visionary Titans. With over 42 years of experience and $24.2B+ in transactions, this issue highlights his client-first philosophy and unmatched impact on the New York City property market.

BKREA's July 2026 Development Newsletter delivers proprietary market intelligence on New York City's evolving development landscape, examining recent land sales, financing conditions, zoning updates, and investment trends. Leveraging decades of transaction data, the report helps developers, lenders, and investors identify emerging opportunities and risks.

An entity tied to Brooklyn-based developer Wolfe Landau has snapped up two adjacent Financial District lots poised for redevelopment.

For most of my career, one of the greatest competitive advantages you could possess was information. If you knew more than your competitors, you had an edge. You knew who owned what, who was refinancing, who was thinking about selling, what buyers were paying, where rents were moving, and what was happening before everyone else did.

There are people who go through life treating business like a sprint. And then there are people who treat it like baseball. Bob Knakal has always treated it like baseball, and that distinction explains almost everything about his career.

Bob Knakal’s career in commercial real estate is not easily summarized-it is measured in decades of consistency, thousands of buildings sold, and a reputation forged through precision, preparation, and persistence. Yet, at its core, his story is one of clarity: knowing exactly what he wanted to do, committing to it fully, and executing at a level few have matched.

One of the most frustrating aspects of the debate surrounding New York City’s rent-regulated housing stock is that it has become almost entirely ideological. One side argues that rents should remain frozen to protect affordability. The other argues that buildings require sufficient revenue to remain financially viable.

97 out of 99 pitches won. At the time of this release, it'll likely be 98 of 100. That is BKREA's pitch win rate inside the Knakal Map Room. Bob Knakal's career average across roughly 10,000 pitches was 26%. Then he built a 24-foot map and proprietary AI data models, and that number jumped to 98%.

The property asset involved in this transaction is a development site located at 10 East 30th Street in Manhattan. The site has a built square footage of 85,133 and is designated for condo development. The loan amount secured for this acquisition is $20,075,000, with a loan term of 2 years.

This past weekend, I took my wife, Cynthia, and my daughter, Sophie, to the National Hockey League draft in Buffalo.

The asset involved in this transaction is a development site located at 44-68 Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City. The sale price for this property was $28,000,000, and it boasts a building square footage of 103,381 with a price per square foot of $271.

New York City-based real estate investment and development firm Sioni Group has acquired a 12-story office building in Manhattan’s Flatiron District for $31 million, according to city records.

Manhattan's most valuable multifamily opportunities are increasingly defined by scarcity rather than scale. BKREA's $28 million sale of 81 East 3rd Street demonstrates how irreplaceable zoning characteristics, prime location, and long-term investment fundamentals continue to attract strong demand from sophisticated residential investors.

Last week, I received calls from two property owners I had never met before. One assignment is a $15 million air rights sale. The other is a $40 million to $50 million development site. Neither owner came through a referral. Neither came through another broker. Neither came through a networking event, a conference, a direct mail piece, or any of the traditional business development channels that have fueled my career for the last 42 years.

Beverly Hills-based real estate investment company Hawkins Way Capital has acquired a property comprising student housing and market-rate apartments at 81 East Third Street, Commercial Observer has learned.

For more than four decades, Bob Knakal has approached commercial real estate brokerage with an intensity, discipline, and passion that borders on obsession. In an industry where many brokers attempt to cover broad geographies, multiple product types, and countless service lines, Knakal built his entire career doing precisely the opposite. He narrowed his focus. He specialized relentlessly. And then he devoted his life to becoming the undisputed expert in that narrow slice of the market.

For more than four decades, Bob Knakal has approached commercial real estate brokerage with an intensity, discipline, and passion that borders on obsession. In an industry where many brokers attempt to cover broad geographies, multiple product types, and countless service lines, Knakal built his entire career doing precisely the opposite. He narrowed his focus. He specialized relentlessly. And then he devoted his life to becoming the undisputed expert in that narrow slice of the market.

When you examine a 42-year career in New York City investment sales, it becomes clear that success is rarely the result of a single defining moment. Instead, it is shaped by a series of decisions made at critical inflection points—moments when the conventional path is clear, but the better path requires conviction, discipline, and long-term thinking.

The June NYC Real Estate Development Site Newsletter is now available including Air Rights Comparable Sales.

Last night, the New York Knicks delivered one of the greatest comebacks in sports history and the single greatest comeback in NBA Finals history.

BKREA has been exclusively retained to sell 150 West 85th Street, a vacant six-story building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Qualified bids for the 38,838-square-foot property are due June 15th at 12:00 PM, offering immediate vacant possession and redevelopment optionality.

The recently enacted pied-à-terre tax may ultimately prove to be one of the most disruptive pieces of real estate legislation New York state has passed in years. Whether one agrees with the objective or not, the manner in which it was enacted and the uncertainty it introduces into the marketplace are likely to create consequences far beyond the revenue the tax is expected to generate.

BKREA, the New York City development site specialists led by Chairman and CEO Bob Knakal, has launched the BKREA Air-Rights Comparable Sales Database, a proprietary intelligence platform helping owners, developers, and institutions maximize value in the city's increasingly complex air rights market.

One of my favorite illustrations of success is something often referred to as the Stonecutter’s Creed. Imagine a stonecutter standing in front of a massive block of stone. He picks up his mallet and strikes it. Nothing happens. He strikes it again. Still nothing. Ten blows, 20 blows, 50 blows, 95 blows, and the stone appears completely unchanged.

Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors (BKREA), has been recognized as one of "The Most Visionary Business Leaders to Watch in 2026." The feature highlights Knakal's four-decade career in commercial real estate, his commitment to innovation, and his ability to combine traditional relationship-driven brokerage with cutting-edge technology and data intelligence.

In a city where ambition rises as fast as its skyline, few individuals have left as indelible a mark on the commercial real estate landscape as Bob Knakal.

Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors (BKREA), has been featured in The Quiet Reinvention of Real Estate, a profile highlighting how he is reshaping commercial real estate brokerage through data, technology, market intelligence, and disciplined execution.