As Northeast regional manager for JPI, a national REIT focusedon the apartment sector, Kaye is finally seeing nearly five yearsof effort pay off with the approval or near-passage of severalmajor apartment communities throughout the state. In most cases,including a $30-million project slated to break ground next week inMarlborough, Kaye says the bulk of the time has been spent securinglocal and state approvals for the developments.

"We're committed to this market, but the challenge and the riskhas always been in the approval process," he says. "It's certainlynot for the faint of heart."

With the risk comes reward, however, and Kaye says the recentsurge of apartment rental rates in Greater Boston helps justify hiscompany's tenacity. Double-digit rent increases have been the normfor the past several years, with rates up 15% in Boston thus far in2000, while communities along Route 128 have seen a 16% surge. Evencities and towns on the Interstate 495 loop have seen a 12% hikethus far this year.