The deal, which involves 44 industrial buildings, first reported in the Boston Globe, was confirmed for GlobeSt.com by a city representative and by Vivian Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association. A local representative of Tishman & Speyer declined to comment on the deal. Robert Kenney, who runs Boston Wharf, did not return calls by deadline. The firm is owned by UK-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

Li tells GlobeSt.com that the selling price is purported to be $500 million, a figure that has been reported in local publications.

The city representative notes that the mayor's office was informed of the deal and she emphasizes that that the city is confident that "Tishman will continue in Boston Wharf's tradition and ensure that the city's goals are met." There has been some concern expressed as word of the deal leaked out over the future of the artist's residences in the area. But the city representative emphasizes that while the property is privately owned they believe that Tishman will be willing to continue having a "dialogue with us."

Li points out that Boston Wharf has owned the properties for close to 100 years, making the carrying costs for them very low. "There was not the same pressure to build," she says. The buildings are each between six to eight stories and Li notes that it they were built today they would be much taller. "Boston Wharf didn't have the need for greater density," she adds. Thompson Financial is one of the major tenants in the portfolio with the rest being used as manufacturing space or artist's lofts. "Boston Wharf is not making much money off the artists," says Li. "This is probably not the best and highest use as defined today."

According to Li, Tishman & Speyer is in the process of doing due diligence on the buildings and the deal will probably close in the fall. While Li doesn't anticipate that Tishman will make changes immediately, she believes that there eventually will be a push for greater density or a change in the rent structure. "It wouldn't surprise us if over time the space will go to a higher use," she says. "In the end it is about business." But Li believes that Tishman will work in connection with the abutters, the city and the local residents. "There will be collaboration," she says.

The current head of the local office of Tishman Speyer is Tom O'Brien, a former head of the city's Boston Redevelopment Authority. O'Brien's reign extended for about two years in the late 1990s and ended when he resigned over a controversy involving one of his staff members.