"It's a big one," says Tambone, who plans to undertake toproject on a speculative basis if a tenant is not found beforegroundbreaking. The company has successfully undertaken similarprojects during the past two years, including the 120,000-sf CedarHill Industrial Center in Marlborough, which leased up in a fewmonths after breaking ground last summer.

Designed by Vitols Associates of Boston, the Methuen building isone of a handful of projects being planned or underway inMassachusetts. The booming office market and a surge intelecommunications players looking for so-called switch hotels aregrabbing up available sites along Routes 128 and 495. Spaulding& Slye Colliers places the state's industrial vacancy rate at5.5%, down 2% from the start of the year.

Ironically, the region with the biggest vacancy rate is the495/North sector, which includes Methuen. The 5.2-million-sf markethas a vacancy rate of 14.7% following negative absorption of270,000 sf during the past six months. Tambone downplayed thosenumbers, however, maintaining that the bulk of the available supplyis outmoded. His building will feature 30-ft-high ceilings,extensive loading areas and state-of-the-art mechanicalsystems.