Bisnow has learned thatBethesda-based WRIT' s 17-building medical office portfolio, which the REIT announced yesterday it may be selling, could fetch as much as $550M.

WRIT's MOB portfolio totals 1.3M SF in this region (including 8301 Arlington Blvd in Fairfax, above). Bisnow has also been told thatthe buildings will command lots of investor interest since they're well occupied, as doctors tend to stay long-term, with triple-net leases. A source adds that the ample amount of available financing will allow potential buyers to lever the sale's cap rate favorably.

In other WRIT news, the company says that CEO Skip McKenzie (center, flanked by RBS's Stewart Whitman and WRIT CFO Bill Camp) intends to retire by the end of 2013, ending a 16-year run with the company in which its local portfolio grew from 47 to 70 properties (he's been CEO since '07). WRIThopes to have a replacement locked up in a few months.