Having Boston's subway network across the street and quickaccess to Interstate 93 and Route One are among the pluses of theSchrafft Center, says Stevens Group principal Debra Stevens, whonegotiated the lease on behalf of nTag along with ChristopherMcMahon of GVA Thompson Doyle Hennessey. The tenant is creator ofan interactive identification badge for use at trade shows andother networking events. Sabrina Tarantino and Bill Bushrepresented Flatley in-house.

The commitment by nTag comes in the wake of a torpid beginningto 2007 for the Charlestown office market, during which signedleases were a rare occurrence. According to figures compiled byJones Lang LaSalle, there was negative net absorption of 2,600 sfin the district during the first quarter. Cushman & Wakefieldhad negative absorption of 16,000 sf. Charlestown also ranks withthe highest vacancy among the city office submarkets, with C&Wregistering a 16.6% mark and JLL pegging the rate at 18.5%. Theaverage vacancy rate in Boston after the first quarter was 7.5%,says C&W, while JLL estimates it at 8.2% overall.

C&W's Charlestown review tracks 2.04 million sf, compared to1.9 million sf in the JLL review, in both instances making it thesmallest Hub submarket. The district is also on the low endprice-wise, with C&W putting the achieved rate in Charlestownat $26.60 per sf and JLL listing the asking rent at $26.78 per sf.By comparison, C&W has the overall city average achieved at$37.50 per foot versus JLL's figure of $41.07.