Robert Knakal

It’s been a little over a year since Robert Knakal exited JLL abruptly in the wake of a favorable New York Times profile and decided to strike out on his own with a new firm called BKREA. While the blip in his resume made Knakal lose his nearly continuous spot on this list last year, he came back in full swing.

BKREA has already secured 37 exclusive listings totaling more than $2.5 billion in value, sold around eight buildings worth more than $200 million, and built a team of 15 people.

Those deals included Avdoo & Partners Development’s $52 million acquisition of 1341-1347 Second Avenue and 242 71st Street, and Gateway Realty’s $21.3 million purchase of 363 Seventh Avenue.

Part of the reason for that quick success is Knakal’s tendency to think a little bit differently by creating what he calls a “Policy & Zoning SWAT Team” to help clients navigate the city’s byzantine building regulations, and by constructing a large social media presence with Knakal posting everything from motivational quotes to behind-the-scenes information on how deals went through.

“I think that’s why we’ve been able to get the traction that we’ve had — the whole thing is trying to be different than everyone else,” Knakal said. “Do things a little differently, and that approach has worked well over the years.”

One of the ways Knakal tried to differentiate himself in the market was focusing long on artificial intelligence to help cull through data. His first hire at the firm wasn’t another broker but a chief operating officer, Seth Samowitz, to build that AI platform.  

But even with a focus on new technology, BKREA still has an analog heart.

The center of its Midtown office is the so-called “Map Room,” a huge map tracing every building and development site in Manhattan south of 96th Street (and which was the hook of that mysteriously damning Times article). Knakal is more than happy to climb on top of it to point out a specific site. And it’s effective, too: Of the 35 people whom Knakal has pitched in the room, all 35 have become clients.

Plus, Knakal recently crossed another milestone, selling the 2,349th building of his career last month.