"The property offered Zink Imaging the ideal layout to house both their global headquarters and their research and development functions," says Grubb & Ellis EVP Jack Kerrigan, who negotiated the lease on behalf of the tenant along with senior account manager Anne Flanagan. Besides being one of suburban Boston's most established corporate campuses, Bedford Business Park can accommodate Zink's long-term space requirements, explains Kerrigan.

Zink CEO Wendy Caswell says the park met her company's requirements for a new headquarters facility, praising G&E for its persistence in the space search that was conducted over the summer. "This Crosby Dr. location will support our quest to provide millions of customers with the magic of Zink Zero Ink products," says Caswell, whose two-year-old firm is the inventor and producer of "disruptive printing technology," a process that eliminates the need for ink cartridges or ribbons.

Boston Properties was represented in-house on the Zink lease negotiations by VP Stacey Baker. The 407,000-sf Bedford Business Park is situated at the junction of Routes 3 and 62, offering access to Route 128 just south of the property and to Interstate 93. The park is home to a number of high-tech tenants, having earlier this year also landed iRobot for its corporate headquarters, with that firm taking down nearly 160,000 sf.

The Route 128 Northwest corridor has enjoyed a solid 2007 as well, helping reinvigorate a market that struggled for several years after the technology crash that began in mid-2001. Vacancy rates that soared into the 30% range at the height of the difficulties have dwindled substantially this year. According to G&E's research department, the vacancy rate for Route 128 Northwest was down to 13.8% after registering 172,000-sf of positive net absorption in the third quarter, bringing the YTD total absorption to just under 500,000 sf. The average class A asking rent has increased to $27.46 per sf, reports G&E, outpacing the suburban Boston average of $25.68 per sf.