Two Newton Place in Newton Corner is one of the more high-profile facilities in a large New England property portfolio owned by CrossHarbor Capital Partners, which is said to be discreetly showing the 47-building package to a select group of potential buyers.

As non-stories go, it is a pretty big one for Boston’s commercial real estate investment market, but while some predict CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC will retain a regional fiefdom of 47 industrial and office buildings it has owned since 1999, sources maintain the portfolio has been offered to multiple suitors in recent weeks. The package reportedly could fetch more than $500 million in a frenzied capital climate, but sources familiar with the Boston-based real estate firm claimed a refinancing would be the most likely change, if any, insisting the current exercise was sparked by an unsolicited bid and not a burning desire to divest the holdings.

“I don’t think [a sale] is going to happen there,” said a source close to the negotiations. There has apparently not been any official marketing plan put in motion, although another source said Cushman & Wakefield’s Financial Services Group is helping CrossHarbor Capital shop the portfolio to “selective investors,” maintaining that bids are “expected shortly.”

“It has been quietly marketed,” agreed another source who said the portfolio “should” be priced in the $450 million range. Officials at Cushman & Wakefield and Boston-based CrossHarbor Capital did not respond to inquiries by press deadline, but there were plenty of observers willing to cast opinions on what the properties might yield.

Located also in Maine, New Hampshire and Connecticut, the bulk of the 4.1 million-square-foot portfolio is in the Bay State. According to CrossHarbor financial data, 32 of the buildings are in Massachusetts, accounting for 2.95 million square feet. The mix of office, flex and warehouse facilities was purchased from MGI Properties, a real estate investment trust that took the unusual move of divesting all of its assets after determining liquidation would yield a greater value to its shareholders than the publicly traded stock.

When the New England Office Portfolio originally was acquired for about $400 million, CrossHarbor Capital Partners was known as Boston Capital Institutional Advisors, a moniker it shed in 2004 to better reflect its expanding geographic investment platform. The current roster of 47 buildings has been pared down from 53 originally acquired from MGI, and the erstwhile BCIA had tried to sell the entire package in 2002 before changing course and refinancing the portfolio.

‘High Hurdle’

Although company officials disputed the figure, the larger portfolio deal was pegged at a target asking price of $650 million, whereas sources claimed the latest effort involving the 47 properties is unlikely to move on any amount below $500 million. At least one source put the expectations even above that rate, claiming CrossHarbor is holding out for a sale in the $525 million to $530 million range.

“It’s a high hurdle,” said the source, who was involved in the 2002 campaign when BCIA first entertained a mass sale. Despite certain jewels such as the ornate 111 Speen St. office building in Framingham and the well-located Two Newton Place in Newton Corner, the source said there are some physical and occupancy issues in the portfolio.

“It’s a lot of money [for assets located] in what is still a recovering area,” said the source, noting that many of the buildings are in the economically challenged Interstate 495 market, which has been brutalized by the technology downturn gripping Massachusetts since the new millennium began. Even so, the source maintained that CrossHarbor Capital is in an enviable position because the firm is well managed and has worked diligently to stabilize the buildings. “They are pretty smart guys over there and [the portfolio] is well-capitalized,” said the source. If principals such as William Kremer and Samuel Byrne do not receive an acceptable offer, the source claimed that CrossHarbor Capital should be able to reap enough income going forward to fare well until a suitable deal is accomplished.

Another investment sales specialist familiar with the properties said the $500 million asking price is attainable, particularly given the continued flow of investment capital into the market. “The appetite for real estate is as high as it has ever been in my career, and it is broad-based,” said the broker, who requested anonymity. “While [the CrossHarbor portfolio] has some difficult buildings in difficult locations, it still is going to be very attractive to a lot of investors Â… I think they would get a lot of interest.”

Indeed, the source opined that rather than selectively shopping the portfolio, CrossHarbor would do better with an expanded marketing program. Given the firm’s reluctance to even confirm the current effort, however, the source agreed such an approach is not expected. And as past experience has proven, CrossHarbor certainly may opt to again pull the deal off the trade block, added the broker. “They really could go either way on it,” said the source, who nonetheless disputed the idea that CrossHarbor is a passive participant in the process. “They’ll sell if they can get the price. I’m convinced of that,” said the source.

Joe Clements may be reached at jclements@thewarrengroup.com.