Those are the kinds of opportunities Greenwich, CT-based HanoverReal Estate Partners is interested in, though managing partner ReedMiller concedes that it is hard to estimate just how much actuallyinvesting the company might do along these lines in 2010. "It couldbe hundreds of millions of equity, or we could keep our powderdry," says Miller. The company has a base of private high net worthand family office and trust investors as equity partners.

Still, he and fellow managing partner Kenneth Boyle think thecurrent environment--in particular a trend for companies todownsize and reduce the space they occupy, as well as the lessfavorable economics for companies to develop their ownbuildings--could result in these kinds of opportunities. Inparticular, says Boyle, he sees a "resurgence of tenants who in thepast might have looked at building their own corporate headquarterswho are now either looking to buy buildings that they canreposition into their corporate headquarters or are looking toshare space in existing buildings and accept more of amulti-tenanted environment."

Large space users that are the only occupant of their buildingsare now looking at their budgets and at ways to reduce space andspending, and as a result some are newly willing to share abuilding with others, Boyle continues. But at the same time, thosecompanies are not necessarily in the real estate ownership orredevelopment business. And that creates opportunities torestructure leases "and convert what was a single-tenant buildinginto a multi-tenant building," he adds. "That creates opportunityfor people to come in and take the risk of repositioning andlease-up and put in the money that's necessary to reposition theasset."