In the proposal, Gutierrez plans a $50-million renovation andexpansion of the site, which is located among hundreds of acres ofparkland controlled by the Metropolitan District Commission. Thedevelopment company did not return calls by press time, but theplan calls for developing three new office buildings totaling540,000 sf of space as well as restoring 300,000 sf of existingspace. The property is located off Interstate 93 and Route 28 andin close proximity to Boston and Cambridge. The development companyis renaming the facility the Stoneham Executive Center.

Despite the recent downturn in the high-tech sector--and thetens of thousands of sf being offered as subleases by strugglingcompanies--office space in the Greater Boston area is still verytight. Interest in leasing space in the Center has reportedly beenhigh especially among companies looking for large quarters, 400,000sf and above. Local agents predict that the center will lease inthe mid to high $30s per sf.