"Landlords (in this market) are vulnerable right now," Matt Daniels of Spaulding & Slye Colliers, whose firm recently engineered leases in the market totaling over 100,000-sf, tells GlobeSt.com. "Tenants are taking advantage of the soft market and are trying to lock in for a long time, especially if they have the ability to project what their space needs are going to be."

Daniels explains that businesses had a hard time predicting those needs in the past few years, when the economy was still reeling. "Today business is a little more predictable and companies that survived can now predict what their needs are going to be." Daniels, assistant vice president Jay Nugent, and associate Daniel R. Kollar of Spaulding & Slye Colliers represented the tenants in all of the transactions.

Specialized Receivables, a third party collections agency, negotiated the last two years of its 38,000-sf commitment downward, and extended for an additional five years at 11 Audubon Rd. in Wakefield. First Call Mortgage Co. consolidated its Salem, Reading, and N. Andover offices, taking 30,000-sf at 100 Brickstone Sq. in Andover to establish its new corporate headquarters. CB Richard Ellis represented building owner Lehman Brothers.

Kurzweil Education Systems, a developer of software for people with learning disabilities, relocated its headquarters from 14 Crosby Dr. to 100 Crosby Dr. in Bedford, expanding from 13,000-sf to 18,000-sf in the process. The company will move into the new space on April 1, following interior construction.

VST Software, a voice recognition software developer, will extend its 16,000-sf lease for at least two more years at 150 Presidential Way in Woburn. Lockheed Martin expanded its space at 77 South Bedford St. in Burlington from 5,000 sf to 15,000-sf. CB Richard Ellis represented building owner Aramantil.