"It's a terrific location for a first-class office building,"says a broker familiar with the property on Jones Road. The source,who requested anonymity, also maintains that the development willbe well received by companies scrambling to find adequate quarters."The marketplace needs the space," says the source. "In all areas,we are badly undersupplied."

Nowhere is that more true than in Waltham, considered the mostdesirable office destination in the suburbs. With a 4.7% vacancyrate, according to Meredith & Grew, the 20-million-sf Route128/Mass Pike submarket has barely 900,000 sf available, andvirtually nothing contiguous over 50,000 sf. After beginning theyear with rental rates in the mid-$30 per sf range, Waltham is nowcommanding rents above $50 per sf.

Even with such a hefty chunk of space, the Jones Road developersshould attract attention, according to Scott R. Hughes, a veteranbroker familiar with the Waltham area. "There are a lot of peoplewith very large requirements" in the market, he says, adding thatthe Jones Road parcel has the visibility and access to make it asought-after destination. "It's a good location," says Hughes. "Ithink they will do well with it."