"It's definitely out there," one source tells GlobeSt.com, although calls to JLL were not returned by press deadline. An asking price is not being tendered, according to brokers tracking the process, but some say the rate could exceed $200 per sf given recent improvements to the Route 128 North submarket. At that level, the three-story building would trade in the $21 million range. NBF bought 5 Burlington Woods in July 2001 for $18 million.

Constructed in 1982, 5 Burlington Woods has an occupancy rate of 91%, with tenants including Atex Media Solutions; Fay, Spofford & Thorndike; and Forum Systems. One of the region's top architectural and engineering firms, Fay, Spofford is the largest of the tenants at 5 Burlington Woods, occupying approximately 40,000 sf. JLL is also leasing broker for the property.

As for potential suitors, observers maintain one potential candidate would be Griffith Properties, which together with Urdang Capital Management paid $66.5 million earlier this summer for the Burlington Woods Office Park. "They are the logical choice," claims one investment sales specialist familiar with the asset. Along with an adjacent development parcel, the addition of 5 Burlington Woods would provide the owners of the abutting park "a major office campus" at one of the submarket's top locations. A call to Griffith Properties principals to gauge their interest was not returned by press deadline, and one source says the decision to offer the asset to the buying public indicates a desire by NBF to attract a wider array of bidders. "I think it will do well," adds the source of the prospects, citing a dramatic rise in rental rates since the beginning of 2007.