The best deal of the conference? Winning $200 for Newmark Knight Frank's  Best Moustache contest. (FYI: it's almost Movember; that's Moustache + November.) Clearly, NKF's Gregory Kirsch  and Luke Sementa  have been working harder on their new retail team than those 'staches: they've grown to 45 properties listed and 10 team members. Their biggest deal this year: a lease for Clearwater  at Lake and Michigan.

If you're looking for space in a suburban downtown, St. Charles has a new 8-acre redevelopment site in the works. Summers Commercial Realty's Doug Summers (here with St. Charles' Karla McCleary and Michael Mearus) is leasing the last 20% of the first phase. Two more buildings, one 20k-SF office and one 20k-SF retail and residential, are going up along the Fox River in 2010. Doug's hoping to attract clothing or boutique retailers.

At Next Realty's afterparty at District Bar, Staubach Realty Services'Chris Ilekis and Ryan Murphy join NAI Hiffman's Julia Sutherland. Chris and Ryan are listing 115k-SF for Sears in South Bend, Ind. They also recently acquired the Proctor & Gamble and Mr. Clean accounts for Chicagoland.

Also at District, CG Development's Jon Goldman, Sam Schultz Engineering's Todd Fagen,  and Houseal Lavigne Associates'Courtney Green talked shop. Todd is working on the University of Chicago's transportation master plan, while Courtney is helping create a redevelopment plan for two counties and 14 municipalities along Illinois 47. She's hoping to improve transportation and retail while preserving rural life. Maybe some of those small towns will get their own River North!