Cushman & Wakefield has reportedly been hired by 45 Milk St. LP to market the so-called "jewel box building," a term coined by C&W's Capital Markets Group several years ago to describe older-yet-ornate properties in Boston's CBD. While peddling some of the region's most humongous deals--trading over $5 billion in New England last year alone--the C&W Capital Markets team led by Robert Griffin has crafted a specialty in finding buyers for bite-size assets coveted by a certain class of investors, often foreign sources. Nearby jewel-box buildings that the C&W team of Griffin, Marci Griffith and Edward Maher have sold locally include 84 State St. and One Liberty Square. Members of the team did not respond to inquiries from GlobeSt.com regarding 45 Milk St., but sources acknowledge that the group is marketing the building.

Constructed in 1893, 45 Milk St. is considered among the city's most historically significant office structures and a skyscraper for its time. The erstwhile International Trust Co. building has undergone various renovations over the years, including one that expanded the building back in 1906. The property is currently 100% occupied, and its consistent tenancy offers a measure of stability, observers say, while 45 Milk St. also has a location just one block off the Post Office Square Park that anchors Boston's Financial District.

Investment sales in Boston have enjoyed a robust start to 2007, and smaller assets similar to 45 Milk St. were no exception in attracting capital. GlobeSt.com has recently reported the sales of such downtown buildings as 38 Chauncy St. and 147 Milk St., while a locally based real estate investor just completed its purchase of 109-115 Broad St., a connected package of three buildings also constructed in the 19th century. "It is a well-located asset that will benefit from the surrounding improvements and increasing office rents," says David Greaney, whose Synergy paid $12.0 million for 109-115 Broad St. to Taurus Investment Holdings LLC.