Press

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.

In an industry defined by information, relationships, and execution, BKREA has positioned itself as a modern, data-driven commercial real estate investment sales advisory firm built on decades of proven success. The firm reflects not only a deep understanding of commercial real estate, but also a clear vision for how brokerage and advisory services must evolve in an increasingly complex and global marketplace.

Bob Knakal has released a new episode of The Bob Knakal Show featuring MaryAnne Gilmartin, Founder and CEO of MAG Partners and former President and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies, who discusses her career developing New York real estate.

Bob Knakal along with Jas Saini, Ryan Candel and Nick Tuleu of BKREA announced the development site at 327 Tenth Avenue in West Chelsea NYC is now avialble.

For more than a decade, New York politicians have approached the housing crisis with a fundamentally flawed assumption: that affordability can be legislated into existence without regard for economics.

For years, the narrative surrounding New York City’s Class B and C office market was overwhelmingly negative. Vacancy was rising. Leasing activity was sluggish. Remote work was ascendant. Institutional lenders were retreating. Distressing headlines dominated the conversation. And, perhaps most importantly, pricing collapsed.

Ryan Candel, Senior Vice President of Transactions at BKREA, has been named "Most Promising Commercial Broker of the Year" at the 2026 RED Awards—a recognition reflecting his measurable growth among New York City's top commercial real estate brokers and rising land-brokerage talent.

BK Real Estate Advisors (BKREA), led by Chairman and CEO Bob Knakal and Associate Seth Samowitz, successfully represented Alexander's, Inc. in the $235.5 million sale of 96-05 Queens Boulevard in Rego Park, Queens to Northwell Health. The transaction ranks among the most significant New York City development site sales of 2026.

BKREA and Crexi Release the Next Installment of “Conversation with the Chairman” Featuring Bob Knakal

In New York City’s highly competitive investment sales market, longevity is rare and dominance even rarer. Bob Knakal has achieved both.

The property involved in this transaction is a development site located at 136 West 44th Street, Manhattan. The sale price for this asset was $20,100,000, with a building square footage (BSF) of 60,322 and a price per building square foot (PPBSF) of $333.

New York lawmakers are reportedly considering a new 1 percent tax on all-cash home purchases over $1 million. The proposal is designed to raise revenue and help close New York City’s budget gap.

Commercial real estate veteran Bob Knakal launched a new speaker series and expanded his Knakal Dealmakers Knetwork mentorship initiative, delivering a keynote on the three pillars of elite performance: passion, expertise through specialization, and disciplined daily execution.

Real Estate titans Bob Knakal and Don Tepman headlined the annual NYC Real Estate Gala, an exclusive evening uniting New York City’s most influential developers, investors, and brokers at Hudson Yards.

BKREA: Where Market Intelligence Meets Execution

Every housing conversation in New York City seems to begin with the same flawed premise: “How does the government find enough money to create housing?”

Building Value: How Bob Knakal Is Rewriting the Playbook with BKREA

People talk a lot today about motivation, how to find it, how to sustain it, how to “unlock” it.

Genessy Jaramillo, Managing Director and Head of the Transferable Development Rights Team at BKREA, earned Transferable Development Rights Broker of the Year honors at the 2026 RED Awards. Chairman and CEO Bob Knakal calls her a rising star in New York City commercial real estate.

Knakal’s investment sales firm, launched on the heels of his exodus from JLL, has closed 43 transactions totaling $1.78 billion in Manhattan real estate. As it makes its way through 2026, the firm has at least 75 listings that have the potential to bring in about $4 billion for his clients, according to Knakal.

BKREA was founded out of a long-standing observation that the New York City investment sales market, despite its scale and sophistication, was still not being served at the level of rigor and precision that modern institutional capital demands.

Bob Knakal launches The Knakal Dealmakers Knetwork, a live mentorship community for brokers and sales professionals. Drawing from a 42-year career brokering 2,398 buildings worth $24 billion, members receive twice-monthly sessions on sales, negotiation, branding, and elite performance. Launches May 5, 2026.

Extell scooped up the property at 57 E. 55th St. for $19 million, Bob Knakal of BKREA investment sales brokerage in New York, told CoStar News. Knakal represented the seller, Kairos Investment Management. Kairos bought the property in February for $15 million in a foreclosure auction, CoStar data shows.

Barnett’s bid beat out a hospitality operator, foreign consulates and a group of crypto investors seeking to turn the Friar’s Club into a private club, dubbed the Crypto Castle. Bob Knakal and Tom Brady of BKREA brokered the deal on behalf of Kairos.

For several years, the narrative surrounding New York City office buildings, particularly Class B and Class C assets, was relentlessly negative. The headlines were dominated by remote work, shrinking footprints, weak leasing demand, rising vacancy and the notion that traditional office use might never fully recover.

The mixed-use property located at 57 East 55th Street in Manhattan has been sold for $19,000,000. The asset encompasses a total area of 14,541 square feet, resulting in a price per square foot of $1,306.

Developer Gary Barnett’s Extell Development has purchased New York City’s former home of comedy, the Friars Club building at 57 East 55th Street, for $19 million, sources told Commercial Observer.

The gala is co-hosted by Tepman and the Big Apple’s uber-investment-sales guy, Bob Knakal of BKREA, whose online handle has 50,400 followers.

Bob Knakal’s One 21 Las Vegas keynote addressed how boutique commercial real estate firms can outperform institutional platforms through decision speed, information depth, and incentive alignment.

Every few years, Albany revives an idea that may sound politically attractive but is economically destructive: the pied-à-terre tax.

The inaugural BKREA White Paper examines ELURP — a new regulatory pathway that could reduce certain NYC land use approvals from 7+ months to 90 days — and is also featured in the April 2025 Development Site Monthly Newsletter.

With a career spanning more than four decades, Bob Knakal has become one of the most influential figures in New York City commercial real estate. As the founder and CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors, his impact extends beyond transactions—shaping brokerage models, mentoring future leaders, and redefining how investment property sales are executed.

Bob Knakal and the BKREA Team Proprietary dataset of 29,000+ NYC property transactions reveals the two variables that consistently predict market peaks and troughs.

For most of my career, I have told clients that if you want to understand value in New York City real estate, you need to understand three things: location, zoning and the market. Study those variables carefully, and you can make informed decisions about what a property is worth and what it can become.

Visionary leadership is often associated with bold predictions and disruptive reinvention. In reality, it is far more disciplined. It is built on clarity, conviction, and an unwavering commitment to long-term value creation.

Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors, has been recognized by Biz Insight Global as one of the Most Influential Business Leaders to Watch in 2026.

For more than forty years, Bob Knakal’s career in New York’s commercial real estate market has centered on one guiding idea: a brokerage firm succeeds when its clients succeed. Markets evolve, buildings change hands, and investment strategies shift with economic cycles, but the fundamental purpose of the brokerage profession remains constant. The role of a broker is to guide property owners and investors through complex decisions and help them achieve the best possible outcome for their assets.

Few figures in commercial real estate have shaped the landscape with as much breadth, depth, and sustained influence as Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors (BKREA). With a career spanning more than four decades, Knakal’s trajectory reflects both the evolution of the investment sales business and his own dynamic capacity to innovate, lead, and redefine what it means to be a top-tier real estate advisor in an increasingly complex and competitive world.

Over the past several years, the landscape of multifamily lending in New York City, particularly in the rent-regulated sector, has undergone a dramatic transformation. With the collapse of Signature Bank and the pullback of New York Community Bank (now operating as Flagstar), J.P. Morgan Chase has emerged as the dominant lender in this space. You have, in effect, become the 800-pound gorilla.