In many ways the five-year term renewal was a no brainer forMacNeil/Lehrer Productions, Almquist tells GlobeSt.com. Forstarters, the media company is tied to the WTEA offices, alsolocated in the same building. Also the submarket of Shirlington, asmall area carved out of Arlington County, offers many amenities,she adds.

Unfortunately one is not convenient metro access, which limitsthe appeal of the submarket to companies like MacNeil/Lehrer thathave to be there and those firms that are willing to make atrade-off in favor of slightly lower rents, compared to the nearbyRosslyn-Ballston Metro Corridor. "Overall rental rates are lower inShirlington than in the RB Corridor," Almquist says. For instance,the 168,468-sf lease that the Patent & Trademark Officeinkedat 2800 S. Randolph St., a new Shirlington office building set todeliver, was in the $32-per-sf to $33-per-sf asking rate range, shesays. If that same building had been near the Rossyln or Ballstonmetros, the asking rate would have been in the high $30s to low$40s, she says. Asking rates for the Quincy Street building, aclass B structure that is largely fully occupied, is $29 per sf to$30 per sf, according to Almquist.