"It's just not so," Beacon spokesman Alex McCallum says ofreports that the firm has hired Trammell Crow to sell thedevelopment, purchased by the company in May 1998 for $123 million.McCallum says he believes the rumors are a result of severalunsolicited offers made by investors eager to grab a stake in thesuper-hot East Cambridge office market.

"Beacon has been getting a number of inquiries about itsdevelopment projects, including Technology Square," says McCallum.He adds that a similar pattern occurred earlier this summer whenthe firm purchased 800,000 sf in Boston's Fort Point Channeldistrict, with several reports emerging that the company was tryingto flip those holdings as well. Beacon is currently working on adevelopment plan for that space, McCallum says.

Another factor fueling the rumors, McCallum says, may be thefirm's demonstrated willingness to trade its portfolio whenevercompany officials feel it is appropriate. Beacon, for example, didearlier this year sell the Draper Lab building in Cambridge for$72.5 million. Along with that property, which was acquired as partof the Technology Square package, Beacon also recently sold 215First St. in Cambridge for $68 million, as well as 233 Fremont St.in San Francisco for $146 million.