There was a negative absorption of 129,000 sf in Q1, after eightconsecutive quarters of decreasing vacancy rates, Wright says. Theincrease was due to Grubb & Ellis taking into accountapproximately 176,000 sf of space of the Verizon sublet, which isexpected to soon become vacant although there is about five yearsleft on the lease, Wright says.

The suburban market, however, saw 46,195 sf of new growth in thefirst quarter. "The suburbs performed strongly," he says. The mostgrowth during Q1 was in the Horsham/Willow Grove and Radnor/MainLine submarkets, Wright says. One of the largest lease signings forthe quarter was the lease for 180,000 sf signed by LincolnFinancial Management in the Brandywine Realty Trust's RadnorFinancial Center in the Radnor/Main Line submarket.

Vacancy in the Radnor/Main Line submarket had been more than 45%three years ago after Wyeth moved into its own campus, now at theend of Q1 vacancy there has dropped to 24.5%. Part of the reasonfor the decrease in vacancy is Brandywine spending approximately$25 million and repositioning the Radnor Financial CenterComplex.