For office space, the price is right

Quality, not quantity: That's the philosophy of Edward H. Linde, chief executive of Boston Properties Inc., and his team as they buy, develop, manage -- and, when the time is right, sell -- property in Boston and elsewhere.

"We are not in the business of increasing our revenue," Linde says. "We believe in increasing returns on equity and doing transactions that are accretive, rather than getting bigger."

Prices for office buildings in Boston and some other urban areas have risen sharply for the last couple of years, helping those commercial real estate firms ready to take advantage of those opportunities to enjoy banner returns.

The company sold one large New York City property, 280 Park Avenue, last year, and one in Boston, 265 Franklin Street. The properties that remain in the portfolio also did well, as a recovering economy allowed owners to charge more for space.

Boston Properties operates in select markets with high-quality buildings, primarily in cities where it's hard to do business -- "high barrier to entry," in industry terms -- because of high costs, scarcity of land, and tough regulatory conditions. The firm bought the commercial portion of the Prudential Center in 1998 and built it out into a major Boston retail-and-office destination.

Thomas C. Palmer Jr. can be reached at tpalmer@globe.com.