The move is the latest in a series of quick turnarounds for the opportunistic firm, which was founded in January 1998 by Alan M. Leventhal and Lionel P. Fortin. The company recently, for example, completed the sale of the Draper Lab building in Cambridge for $68 million. That and the adjacent Technology Square were purchased by Beacon in May 1998 for a total of $123 million. Beacon recently sold 215 First St. in Cambridge for $68 million as well, with that 300,000-sf property also acquired in May 1998.

The hyperactive trading is in sharp contrast to the Beacon Cos., the venerable Boston-based firm that for nearly 50 years dominated the city's real estate market with its full-service, long-term ownership approach. Founded by Leventhal's family, the Beacon Cos. was converted to a public REIT in 1995 under the stewardship of Alan Leventhal and Fortin. That vehicle, Beacon Properties Corp., was sold in December 1997 to Equity Office Properties, although Equity owner Sam Zell did not demand a non-compete clause from Beacon's principals, allowing them to quickly form Beacon Capital Partners.

Beacon officials were unavailable for comment, while Trammell Crow brokers declined comment. Nonetheless, one veteran investment broker agrees that Beacon has a far different approach to real estate than Alan Leventhal's father, Norman Leventhal, did during his time at the helm. "They've changed the whole way they do business," says the broker. "They are just going to continue to buy and sell."