CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners principal Curtis M. Cole saysthe mostly retail district has become a popular destination forcompanies seeking office space, especially those being uprooted byscarce supply and rising rents in the abutting Cambridge market.Internet startups and other high-tech concerns who want to be nearthe Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Universityare attracted by the Red Line subway, says Cole, given that theline runs through both Harvard and Kendall Squares, as well as intoDowntown Boston.

"I really look at Davis Square as an enclave of Cambridge," addsInsignia/ESG Director Daryll Morse. The location "is veryattractive from a recruiting standpoint," he says. He recentlyrepresented Spotfire, a software company, in its 28,000-sf lease at212 Elm St., a deal that coincided with Paradigm's purchase of thebuilding. Morse says the competition for the space was fierce, withhis client ultimately winning out. While he would not discussspecifics, a source say the lease was inked above $40 per sf, aprice that would have been virtually unimaginable just a yearago.

According to Cole, who brokered the sale of the building withCB/Whittier colleagues Biria St. John and Charles P. Kavoogian,companies also like Davis Square because of the eclectic mix ofcoffeehouses, restaurants and nightclubs, which provide the 24/7atmosphere coveted by the modern workforce. In many respects, hesays, the district is similar to Harvard Square of 10 to 15 yearsago, long before much of the retail in that area was overtaken bymajor brand names such as HMV Records and Pizzeria Uno.