The netStruxr application, SPACEdirect, developed over months ofcollaboration among the four entities, is the first buyer-centric,Web-based portal to serve the real estate community. ThroughSPACEdirect, real estate professionals will be able to contactsuppliers and access a diverse menu of cost-saving e-strategies,the partners say.

Initially, the three companies planned to form their ownintegrated on-line application, but then elected to work withnetStruxr to develop the service. Technology to run the newe-marketplace exchange will be provided by IBM.

Robert Patterson, Bank of America's senior vice president ofcorporate real estate, tells GlobeSt.com the bank started workingon the project in February, got together with netStruxr in June andstarted beta testing in August. "We're still working on it," saysPatterson. "Now it will be rolled out to the rest of my group andto the brokerage firms that we currently use in our transactionprocess."