"That is true," one broker concurs of multiple reports that Broadway has opted to peddle the tower just one year after acquiring 200 State St. in a $5-billion portfolio buy from Beacon Capital Partners. That building and 23 other properties were secured by the Broadway Real Estate Fund III in the blockbuster transaction. The portfolio features other high-end office buildings in Massachusetts, among them 116 Huntington Ave. in Boston and the Bay Colony Corporate Center in Waltham, one of the suburb's leading addresses. Other Broadway funds have control of the iconic John Hancock Tower in Boston's Back Bay and the Ten/10 Post Office Square office buildings in the Financial District.

Officials at Cushman & Wakefield's Boston division declined comment on being tapped for the 200 State St. assignment, while Broadway management did not respond to inquiries by press deadline. Nonetheless, market watchers insist the asset is being packaged for sale, although sources were unable to estimate what price Broadway will be looking for from the exercise. The Boston assessor's office puts a value of $87,090,500 on the 23-year-old tower, which is now structured as an office condominium after Beacon sold off a retail component soon after purchasing 200 State St. in 2005 for $141 million. The retail piece was flipped to an Irish investment group for $51 million, equating to a per sf price of $300 paid by Beacon for the office product. As part of its purchase, Broadway assumed an $82-million mortgage from Lehman Brothers.

The pending arrival of 200 State St. to the sales arena comes amidst a far different climate than that in which Broadway completed the portfolio buy last spring. Eager capital sources fueled by CMBS money have all but disappeared in the wake of the obdurate credit crunch, leading many owners to keep properties on the sidelines until more favorable conditions reappear. Presently, there are only a handful of top Boston buildings available for sale, including Verizon's headquarters at 185 Franklin St. and One Federal St., a 38-story, 1.1 million-sf tower C&W is marketing for Tishman Speyer.