As is the case in so many similar stories, the tech bust forced the company to reconsider its options and ultimately Tellabs decided to keep everyone where they are, putting an additional 260,000 sf of space on the sublease market.

But if the recent sublease deal for this space is any indication of where the market is headed, things could be starting to look up. Siemens Information Systems is subleasing 65,184 sf from Tellabs at 271 Mill Rd., which consists of 60% office space and 40% cooled lab space and has one loading dock The company is relocating from Westford, MA and was previously part of Unisphere Networks.

Jim Thomson and Rich Ruggiero of Cushman & Wakefield represented Siemens in the transaction while Richards Barry Joyce & Partners represented Tellabs.

The really good news for Tellabs could be happening within the next few weeks though. Ruggiero tells GlobeSt.com that Zoll Medical is close to signing a lease to take all of 269 Mill Rd. as well as some space in 271 Mill Rd. The deal would be relief-inducing for Tellabs as the market here has gone from bad to worse over the past year with available sublease space being the main culprit. According to by Trammel Crow Co., available direct space in Chelmsford was at 5.2% a year ago. But when available sublease space was added in, that number shot up to 21.3%.

The most recent statistics are even more sobering. Available direct space for the area went up slightly to 8.3% but when sublease space is added in to that number, overall available space is at a whopping 41.6%.

Lease rates for this deal were not released but the average lease rate for Chelmsford is $22 per sf for office space and $11.31 per sf for research and development space.