It's not that the company, which has 113 million sf of property in 20 cities, wants out of Cincinnati, or even the Midwest, says a Duke spokesman. "Of our top six markets, five are in the Midwest: Indianapolis, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago and Columbus. The only market we've pulled out of is Cleveland, it's not much of a growth market," the spokesman tells GlobeSt.com.

Rather, he says the recent sale situations, at least mostly Cincinnati, is about recycling capital. "We're making sure our capital stays in growth markets, and not in substandard markets," he says.

The company is looking to sell Cincinnati buildings such as One Ashview Place in Blue Ash and the Enquirer building at 312 Elm St., as well as properties at Governor's Hill and Governor's Pointe in Mason, he tells GlobeSt.com. "We're going to take capital and redeploy it to three submarkets, Blue Ash, Kenwood and West Chester. We've got a building about to open and another underway in both Blue Ash and West Chester, and we're pursuing land in Kenwood." The buildings in Cincinnati are about 86% occupied, and some brokers have reportedly estimated they'll sell for up to $387 million.