NORTHBOROUGH, MA-Online DVD rental service Netflix has leased 24,000 sf of industrial space at 444 Whitney St. here. The move adds about 9,000 sf to the company's Massachusetts operation.

The Los Gatos, CA-based firm will move from its current Worcester location, where it has about 15,000 sf, into the I-290 Industrial Park next month under a three-year lease arrangement. Philip DeSimone, senior vice president with Spaulding & Slye Colliers, tells GlobeSt.com the park-like setting and the site's air-conditioned flex space worked well for the company, which plans to use the space as a distribution center.

"The I-290 Industrial park has great access to highways so from a distribution standpoint it works very well," says DeSimone, noting that the location also offers nearby access to the Shrewsbury Post Office which Netflix uses to mail DVDs to its customers. Although terms of the lease were not disclosed, DeSimone says similar space in the Northborough area generally rents for under $10 per sf.

The property, owned by Rreef, is one of six buildings in I-290 Industrial Park, a 577,535-sf research/development and industrial complex located just off Interstate 290 near the Massachusetts Turnpike. The transaction was negotiated for Rreef by DeSimone along with William Bailey and Kristin O'Shea, also with Spaulding & Slye Colliers. Will Kelleher of Kelleher & Sadowsky of Worcester, represented Netflix.