Limited spaces available. Registration closes [Friday, September 18 at 12:00 PM]. Willis Tower security requires every guest to be pre-registered, so tickets will not be available at the door.

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Join CCIM Illinois for an exclusive evening with Bob Knakal, widely regarded as the most prolific building sales broker in New York City history, 67 floors above the Loop at The Metropolitan in the Willis Tower. In an interview-style conversation with Simon Enwia, CCIM, President-Elect of the CCIM Illinois Chapter, Bob will walk through the deals that happen before the development: how the site gets found, how the land gets priced, how the assemblage comes together, and what it takes to get an owner to sell. Then the Knetworking begins.

This evening at The Metropolitan of the Willis Tower includes:

• The Deals Before the Development: Bob Knakal in conversation with Simon Enwia, CCIM, with audience Q&A
• Knakal Knetworking with Bob, CCIM members, CRE colleagues, and dealmakers from across the region
• Cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and skyline views from the 67th floor 

CCIM IL Members attend complimentary. General Admission is $50.

Getting to The Metropolitan

Enter the Willis Tower at the Franklin Street or Wacker Drive entrance and check in at the security desk with a government-issued photo ID; allow 10 to 15 extra minutes. Take the elevators to the 66th floor and the escalator to the Club's main level on 67, some elevator banks lead straight to the 67th floor. where CCIM Illinois check-in will be waiting. Parking is available at the Willis Tower Garage (Franklin and Adams) and Traders Self Park (Franklin and Van Buren). By transit, Quincy/Wells is one block east and Union Station is a short walk. You may also use parking apps and ride sharing. Dress is business attire; the Club does not permit athletic wear, ripped denim, hats, or sandals.

Bob Knakal

Chairman & CEO, BKREA | Speaker and Host

Bob Knakal, also known as "BK," has been a broker in NYC since 1984. Over that time, he has brokered the sale of over 2,400 buildings having a market value of over $24 billion.

For 26 of those years (1988-2014), he owned and ran Massey Knakal Realty Services, which sold more than 3x the number of properties as the #2 firm in NYC from 2001-2014. Running the firm with a Servant Leadership management style, focusing on empowering everyone on the team, intensely training them, and building their self-esteem, led to this overwhelmingly dominant platform. The firm was sold to Cushman & Wakefield in 2014 for $100 million.

The Massey Knakal legacy is illustrated by the fact that today in the New York City investment sales market, there are 29 companies, or divisions of companies, that are either owned by, or run by, people who learned the business at Massey Knakal.

Bob is a prominent thought leader in the commercial real estate business, writing the Concrete Thoughts column for Commercial Observer since 2009, lecturing on the market, and appearing on podcasts and national television shows on networks like Fox, CNBC, and MSNBC. He is the bestselling co-author of Selling Buildings: Maximizing Prices and Profits in Commercial Real Estate. In 2024, Bob founded BKREA, an investment sales and capital markets brokerage firm in New York City that blends best-in-class analog data sets with artificial intelligence technologies to create a new brokerage firm for a new era.

Simon Enwia, CCIM

CEO & Designated Managing Broker, SENW | Interviewer

Simon Enwia, CCIM, CIPS, GRI, SRS, ABR is CEO and Designated Managing Broker of SENW, a multi-state full service brokerage headquartered in Illinois, with operations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Arizona, and California. He serves as President-Elect of the CCIM Illinois Chapter and as an Affiliate Institute Director of NICAR, Board Member for The RED Awards and is an SIOR Member Associate. In his practice, he sells as a specialty, data center development sites. He co-hosted Bob Knakal's 2025 Chicago Knetworking debut and returns this year to lead the conversation.

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